Final Fantasy VII
by Ludi Ling
Summary: Novelization of Final Fantasy 7. Mainly CloudxAeris.
1. PART 1 Prologue

**A/N:**Awesome news! I was tidying my bedroom and chanced upon a CD onto which I'd burned the entirety of my Final Fantasy 7 novelization - yes, that novel which I thought I'd lost many eons ago when my computer crashed. So now I'm posting it up, hopefully on a weekly basis. Just be warned - this is a monster of a fic, totalling about 500 pages altogether, so it's going to take some time to get to the end... But bear with me, we'll get there in the end. And please don't hesitate to leave your comments and reviews, despite the fact that this was written way back in 1999 - it means a lot to know what people appreciate, as well as hearing your constructive crit.

Enjoy!

-Ludi x

-oOo-

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* * *

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**PART ONE**

'_A journey always begins with ignorance._

_When a child, one cannot expect the _mystery

_of life to be revealed before the _journey_ of life _

_has been undertaken._

_Great things have small beginnings. This is _

_what the Holy One tells us._

_So. Begin ignorant._

_You shall learn upon the way.'_

-Wutainese proverb from _'The Five Hundred __Prophecies of Leviathan'_

-oOo-

* * *

**:: Prologue ::**

A lady sat at the sill of her window and looked out on to the snowy fields that surrounded her home, listening to the voices that were always there for her. She was a beautiful lady, beautiful, yet solitary. In the reflected light of the dazzling frosty white sun, she listened to the voices, distinct, warm, comforting, familiar. Like this house, in the middle of the icy snow, the lonely, icy snow.

For many days now, she had sat in this room, by this window. It was her prison, but one that she had long ago found quite tolerable. She did not want to escape - the outside world had made that an impossible concept for her. So the want, the need, (when she had felt it last) had disappeared like a snowflake melting on her fingertips. Only in her heart did the Planet speak out to her - yes, the wonderful, bustling, hurting, crying Planet.

From beside her, her baby gurgled in her cot. The lady turned, softly crooning her child gently back to sleep. As she did so, she looked up, towards the door. Her husband was standing there, in his white scientist's coat, austere, yet so overwhelmingly old and tired. He smiled as their eyes met, a weary, worn sort of smile.

"She looks like an angel when she's asleep," he commented, looking at the beautiful child that lay in the cot "just like her mother."

His wife smiled at him.

She loved him. If it had not been for him and their daughter, she would never have stayed here. She remembered with a certain irony how she'd once been his specimen. It seemed a long time since she'd last called him 'doctor'.

"Darling..." she whispered, her voice taut, tight. She could not get the words out. She could not speak. She could no longer even remember what it was she had wanted to say, there were only dark voids, holes full of pain and hope, lost joy and happiness. They were filled only by the brisk and vehement sound of a knock on the door downstairs. She looked up, and the voids started to widen. She _knew_ her fate. Her husband turned in the doorway, his face resigned. She thought with a new kind of hindsight that perhaps heknew _his_ destiny also.

"You won't answer them, you won't!!" she heard herself cry out to him in hopeless fear.

"Of course I will," he answered, his voice worn "Of course I will protect you. You and our daughter..._you_ are my only treasures."

They looked at each other, the pain of their parting absolute in their faces. Neither voiced it.

"Go." he ordered her, softly "I'll join you later."

As she watched him trudge downstairs to answer the door, she knew that he would not. Snatching her baby from its cradle, she ran down the flight of stairs as quick as her legs and whirling mind would let her. The child in her arms did not make a sound to drown out the din at the front of the house. Men's voices were screaming into the hallway, and one of them sounded distinctly familiar.

As she escaped through the back door, she could hear his voice saying just one word over and over, and it ran like a train racing through her mind:

_Cetra...Cetra...Cetra...Cetra..._

There was a stillness in the air as it smashed against her face, and her feet crushed into the snow. Oblivious to anything else, she stumbled through the ice crystals and fought against the turmoil in her brain. Her husband's last instruction to her echoed in her head, resonating with every thud that her feet made in contact with the snow.

She was not a hundred yards from the house when she heard the gunshot. A second passed before the pain crashed over her; and then she felt her husband's soul brush past her, and flutter back toward the Planet.

-oOo-

* * *

The explosion from the number one Mako Reactor had caused an immediate stir among the local population of the Sector One slums that surrounded it. The blast had been enormous and widely felt. Almost as much as the ensuing panic that had caused a few die-hard Hells Angel look-alikes to come charging into a girl who had stood patiently at the side of the pavement, staring on in awe at the disaster. It could not have been called anything but a disaster. The ruling government, Shinra Incorporated, had built the Mako Reactors thirty-nine years ago, and these had always provided the eight Sectors of Midgar City with electricity. No light penetrated the slums of Midgar from the outside world. The plates made sure of that. It was the electricity that replaced the watery sunshine and the warming beams; it was the crackling neon lights and chrome-yellow street-lamps that did that. It did not seem to matter that they were draining the Mako out of the earth, nor that not much of it was left. No one cared about being environmentally friendly anymore. It was a remnant of the old days. 

The girl, as she tried to pick herself up from the rubble that she had landed in, sighed as she looked at the flowers in her basket. It is not easy being a flower girl, she thought. People no longer care about flowers anymore. They had got used to not seeing them in Midgar. She wondered whether they had forgotten what flowers looked like. Maybe they had.

A little way off, the flower girl noted a figure that stood out from the rest of the crowd, all the more so because he was walking away from it. He was good-looking, she thought, and looked a tiny bit dejected and out of place. Different, she thought: but no, not quite so different - he looked so very much like someone she had once known, long ago...It came as a surprise to her when she saw that he was walking her way. Brushing her dress down quickly, she sensed that he was going to talk to her, even though their eyes had not yet met.

"Are you okay?" she heard him ask, and his voice was easy-going, perhaps a little cocky.

She nodded, realising that he must have seen her being knocked over by those oafs. "I'm all right. What happened back there? It scared me."

The boy, or man, she didn't know exactly how to refer to him, shook his head distractedly.

"Nothing...hey, listen..."

Yes, he was very familiar, and it was with a certain amount of self-consciousness that she realised he had unnaturally bright blue eyes. The realisation that she had been staring at him knocked her clumsily into the job she was meant to be doing.

"Do you want a flower? I'll sell it to you for a Gil."

As she picked up the stem of a blue forget-me-not and twirled it playfully between her fingers, she thought she saw something change in those bright eyes. She thought she saw character. But his own character, not the ghosts of her own past.

"Sure." he replied, a little more softly "Don't see many flowers round Midgar these days."

Not any at all, the flower girl thought in reply, as she handed him the blue forget-me-not and took the Gil coin. She dropped it into her pocket. Money, like flowers, was hard to come by in Midgar, and a Gil was nothing compared to the amount she could have charged. Nevertheless, she tried a smile.

"Thank you, very much."

He smiled back at her, but the smile did not reach his eyes. He was devoid of any identity again, she sensed. And he smelt of fires. A little perplexed, she watched him walk away, back into the crowds.

Sighing, the girl picked up a flower and brushed it softly against her cheek. Flowers, she thought, so hard to grow...She stared after the receding figure in the street, a pale, lonely shadow.

"I wonder who that boy was?" she mused out loud to herself. She did not answer the question, though she thought she might have been able to.

"I hope...I get to meet him again."

* * *

_Next: The introduction of Cloud and AVALANCHE!_


	2. PART 1 AVALANCHE

**A/N: **Thanksto all of you who left comments. I'm glad you liked the first part, and hope you enjoy this next installment. **KokoroHikaru**: Glad you're liking things so far. Fair point you raised about inaccuracies when compared to the game. Actually, I tried to keep a lot of dialogue as accurate as I could to the game (which I recall involved a lot of painstaking sitting in front of the game and copying down reams of script :p), but I chose to combine this with creative licence, since copying everything word for word, action for action would've made the story rather stilted and predictable, don't you think? I've also added some extra scenes and stuff just to spice things up... But that'll come later. Enjoy, everyone! :)

-oOo-

**

* * *

:: Chapter One :: AVALANCHE**

In all the twenty-one years of his life, Cloud Strife had never had things easy. No, that was not right. He was like everyone else, he'd had his ups and downs, it had always been that way. He was just a normal guy.

It had started out like this.

He had left his hometown of Nibelheim seven years ago, looking for fame and fortune, as most young and impressionable boys of his age did, and he had joined SOLDIER, the Shinra's most prestigious military organisation. It had all been down to the Great War; it had been going on for most of Cloud's childhood. War was a fixture. Cloud had never really been certain of what it was. War was miles away, on another Continent. Cloud was in Nibelheim. There was the well in the village-centre; the broken-down truck at the entrance - the only truck in town -; the inn with the grumpy innkeeper; the mangy dog who always hung around. And because war wasn't in boring old Nibelheim, war was the most glamorous thing in the world.

Cloud remembered the stories they heard from the faraway war-front. His childhood had been filled with heroic epics, of battles fought and won. Of Sephiroth, their international hero, an elite member of the Shinra's SOLDIER outfit. Sephiroth was the one person that every boy had wanted, still wanted, to become. Such had been Cloud's eagerness to become the new Sephiroth that he had worked himself straight to the top SOLDIER. It had been the hardest thing he'd ever had to achieve.

Five years on, and Cloud had thrown it all away. He did not ask himself why, it hurt too much, because he'd thrown it all away and he'd got to the top. The reason for leaving was this: Shinra Incorporated was corrupt.

He had felt stupid, he should have known. Power and money were all that mattered, and where that lay was in Mako, and so Mako meant everything. Cloud still remembered the daily injections of Mako, into his body, emerald liquid into his veins, liquid sucked out from the earth, the magic of the Planet. It was meant to improve SOLDIER's performance, but all it did was give their eyes an unnatural brightness. But Mako belonged to the Planet and science had no place in its existence. That was why Cloud had thrown away his dream.

And ended up blowing that damned Mako Reactor in Sector One to smithereens.

Becoming a wandering mercenary had been a spur of the moment decision for Cloud, mainly because of his desperate need for Gil. Going to Midgar was the obvious choice of venue for him, primarily because of the reason that such a lot needed to be sorted out there. It had been quite a coincidence that he had met his childhood friend, Tifa Lockheart, there, just as soon as he'd got off the train.

He had not seen her in five years. She had grown a lot and it had embarrassed him. As she had taken him back to her restaurant, Seventh Heaven, he had been oddly aware of the times when he'd waited outside her window as a child, waiting to be asked inside her house. Now, both their parents were dead and times had changed. Tifa was now in a group of misfit rebels, AVALANCHE, a sort of small eco-warrior organisation. In this group he'd seen his other childhood mates, Biggs, Wedge and Jessie. And then he'd met their leader, Barret Wallace.

Barret was the one who was the real eco-warrior. He had a young daughter, Marlene, and the Shinra had killed his wife. A big, burly, black man, he'd also lost his right arm to them. As replacement, a gun had been fitted into his severed arm, and with this he swore he'd take revenge on those who'd ruined his life. He would not take no for an answer, and as soon as he'd heard of Cloud's stint with SOLDIER, he'd forced him to join his raid of the Sector One Reactor. Cloud had agreed. He had needed the money, badly. Tifa had been worried. She insisted that just finding her childhood friend didn't mean she wanted him to disappear again. Cloud's reluctance hadn't paid out. He'd gone, with Barret, Wedge, Biggs and Jessie and suffered under their leader's suspicion of him. _Ah well_, he'd thought. _I'll be out of here by tomorrow_. And then, much to his disconcertment, Tifa had forced him to stay, at least for the night.

And that night, he had a dream. A dream of the past.

Strangely, the dream seemed impersonal to Cloud, like it had never really happened to him.

"When was that?" Cloud asked himself, trying to connect the dream to an event, a memory of his past "I can't remember."

Was he meant to remember? No, it was only a dream. Just a dream.

Then the previous day came flooding back to him. _Dammit_, he thought, _I'll have to get out of here. Find a new job. Get paid by Barret, and get a new job. Then I'm out_.

As though interrupting his resolutions, Tifa entered the room. Her face was flushed as she ran her eyes over him, and her expression was an attempt to mask an obvious approval of what she saw.

"Good morning Cloud. I'm glad you're awake." she told him unnecessarily "It's Barret. He wants to talk to you."

Cloud could not really be bothered to talk to Barret, as little as he could be bothered to rouse himself from bed. The man annoyed him, with his macho male facade. It was obvious that he had a heart of gold and that his life was devoted to Marlene. It was evident too that he needed Cloud to get through his reactor-destroying mission. It was no small job blowing up reactors, and AVALANCHE was sure to get a name as a group of most-wanted criminals.

Cloud lazed back on the soft mattress. He had not felt a real mattress beneath him in years.

"Tifa, can it wait? I really can't be bothered..."

"Cloud!" Tifa interrupted, pouting indignantly "You have to!"

Cloud did not know why he gave into Tifa so easily. Maybe it was because of the way he'd felt about her in the past, and maybe it was because he was being cautious of her after five years apart. That curious sense of embarrassment touched him again, as he looked at her. _She's pretty_, he thought, _prettier than she used to be_. Perhaps his feelings for her had not changed; maybe they'd just waited for the time when he'd see her again. _This_ time.

The thought roused him from his bed.

"Okay, okay, I'll speak to him." he sighed, showing off in his usual cocky way "But it doesn't mean I'm staying."

Tifa smiled easily at him, as though she knew that he would be staying anyway.

Barret at bursting-point by the time Cloud ventured downstairs. He didn't like being kept waiting, that was certain.

"What've you been sleepin' for?" Barret raged in his clipped speech "Today's the day when we raid the Sector Five Reactor. An' you've been sleepin' inta ya work! Get ready now, sharp-ass!!"

"Who says I'm going on your stupid raid anyway?" Cloud retorted coolly, in his infuriatingly calm manner.

"'Cos I'm givin' you this!" Barret lobbed a small package of money toward Cloud, which he caught deftly in his right hand. Cloud looked back at him questioningly.

"One thousand five hundred Gil." Barret stated matter-of-factly "And there'll be more after that if you stay. This is the sum so far up front."

_Is he that desperate?_ Cloud mused to himself.

"I'm not taking it." he answered with a tone of dismissal.

"What?!!" Barret exclaimed, rage beginning to build up behind his face. Cloud shrugged.

"You're asking me to blow up reactors and at the same time you're offering me the measly sum of one thousand five hundred. I'll only play your game if you pay me double up front and then the rest later."

"Now listen here, you frickin' swindler, I..."

"Barret!" Tifa placed a warning hand on the big man's shoulder "It's okay."

"But Tifa," Barret whispered loudly between gritted teeth "this money's going toward Marlene's schoolin'! It's the last offer I'm making to this Cloud of yours!"

So saying, Barret lumbered off to his secret hideout under the bar, literally foaming at the mouth. Tifa sighed and turned to Cloud, disappointment showing on her face. Cloud got a grip on himself.

"Tifa, before you say anything, there's no way I'm going along with Barret's stupid game of blowing up reactors. As far as I'm concerned, he doesn't stand a chance in hell."

The speech seemed to give him confidence to leave. He didn't know until that moment that he would probably have stayed. He had got no further than touching the doorknob when Tifa's voice stopped him.

"Cloud."

The soft note in her voice caused him to lose the confidence he'd just gained. He turned in the doorway, feeling angry with himself for being so weak, and awkward for feeling so touched.

Tifa was looking at him, and he was surprised to see the tenderness in her expression. Since her parent's death, Tifa had been a fighter, tough and strong-willed. He had not seen such a look on her face for as long as he could remember.

"Cloud, you do remember the promise we made, don't you?"

He cast his memory back over the years, but all he saw were the voids that seemed to occupy the past in his mind. He shook his head.

"No, I don't."

Tifa was patient.

"You must remember. It was seven years ago. At the well, back in Nibelheim."

The memory seemed to rush into his head like an awe-inspiring revelation. He remembered, in a flash, that long wait at the well, the starry night, and a thirteen-year-old Tifa, his childhood sweetheart. Cloud lowered his eyelids.

"Yeah. I remember." he replied in a quiet voice "I was waiting for you a long time, and I was getting cold."

Tifa nodded.

"You were leaving," she said, her eyes misty "so I made you promise..."

Cloud passed his mind over the event seven years ago. It was the time when he'd made up his mind to join SOLDIER, and become as great as Sephiroth. He'd called Tifa to the Nibelheim well, just to see her before he went, just to explain the reasons why. He'd felt he'd needed to tell her why he was going. And when he had, he remembered the way her eyes had widened, and then lowered again as though in reflection.

"Then will you promise," she'd said "that you'll be my hero?"

Cloud had been surprised "What?" he'd asked.

"Be my hero." Tifa had repeated, blushing "I want to experience that at least once in my life." She'd looked up at him "Yeah. If I'm ever in a bind, you'll come and rescue me, right Cloud?"

There had been nothing for it but to agree. And that had been their promise.

With a reluctant shift to the future, Cloud looked back up at the present day Tifa.

"Well," she began cheerfully "I'm in a bind now. The whole Planet's in a bind, Cloud. You promise me you'll stay, don't you?"

Cloud had this odd feeling that he'd already fulfilled his promise to Tifa, but he wasn't sure this was entirely true. He nodded slowly, and saw that blatant relief and pleasure crossed Tifa's face.

"Thanks, Cloud."

At that moment, Marlene entered the room, interrupting whatever could have followed next between the two. Marlene seemed a little shy, especially now that Cloud was standing not far off. He remembered how yesterday the young girl had flinched at the massive sword he'd been holding in his hand. Now, she pressed herself up against Tifa's leg, staring momentarily at Cloud and then looking away. Tifa bent down to speak to her.

"Marlene, say hello Cloud. You forgot to, yesterday."

The girl said nothing and her pretty eyes remained focused on the ground. Tifa turned to Cloud apologetically.

"Sorry. She's just a little shy. She doesn't mean anything."

And then, in unison, both Tifa and the young girl's eyes caught sight of the tiny flower tucked into his right brace.

"Oh Cloud! That's so pretty!" Cloud guessed that Tifa had not seen a flower in a long time too, as she stared at it in pleasure "Where'd you get it?"

The blue forget-me-not seemed to jolt Cloud's memory into gear again as he plucked it from his brace. He remembered the flower girl he'd seen yesterday and the flicker of recognition that had passed over her green eyes as he'd approached her. He regretted being so cocky with her now. She was a different girl all together, a _real_ flower girl.

He felt guilty and silly with the flower in his hand. He did not need it and he didn't want to be reminded of the girl he'd met yesterday. He half considered giving it to Tifa, but as he looked at Marlene standing by her leg, he thought he saw a sort of childish resemblance in her to the flower girl. Lowering down on to his knees, he handed her the forget-me-not without much thought, and without saying a word.

Marlene snatched at the flower eagerly, and Cloud realised sadly that she'd probably never held one in her short life. Just as Marlene had wordlessly scuttled to the other side of the room toward the bar, Barret entered the room again from his hideout. Immediately noticing his daughter, he picked her up, tenderly and playfully placing her on his broad shoulder. At the same moment, he noticed the blue flower in the girl's hand.

"A flower!" he exclaimed, wide-eyed "That's pretty Marlene. Where'd you get it?"

"Cloud gave it to me." Marlene replied, casting a pretty eye toward him "He gave me the forget-me-not."

"Oh." Barret passed Cloud a glance, something that tried to bring across a semblance of gratitude. Cloud felt embarrassed at the older man's warmth. He turned away, just in time to face Biggs, Wedge and Jessie as they came in.

"Yo, Barret!" Biggs greeted loudly "We getting a move on?! Everything's in order."

Jessie, who'd been eyeing Cloud appreciatively, finally turned her gaze toward Barret "Yep, we've got the ID cards ready Barret."

Barret put down Marlene, slapped Wedge across the back.

"Great, let's go!!" he paused as he turned to Cloud "You comin'?"

Cloud conceded a nod.

"That's great!" Jessie exclaimed, a little too enthusiastically.

"To the Sector Five Reactor!!" cried Barret, booming it out like a war cry.

Before Cloud could follow the other's out, a hand touched his shoulder gently.

"I'm coming too." Tifa told him, her voice as soothing as her hand.

-oOo-

* * *

_Next: The team infiltrate the Mako Reactor and Cloud's destiny begins to unravel..._


	3. PART 1 Mission

**:: Chapter Two :: Mission**

The train pulled briskly into the Sector Seven Station, a large, bland, rusty construction of worn-out metal, stamped and signed in the fashion of most Shinra property. Cloud sighed as he entered the train with his fellow conspirators. He had wasted precious time explaining to Barret the ground principles of materia, and Barret could hardly be described as the sharpest tool in the box.

Materia was also the produce of the Planet, made from Mako energy -and a source of magic power. Materia endowed its wearer with such magic - the power of the elements, of curative or defensive ability, and most powerfully, of the summon. The summon was an ancient spirit endowed with the power of the gods - they were the purest essence of the life force of the Planet and as such, they were painfully rare, existing on the borderline between reality and legend. Explaining this sort of thing had largely fallen on ignorant ears where Barret was concerned. Tifa was a little more open when it came to Cloud's patient tutorials on the way to the station. She at least managed to get something out of the lesson.

The train jolted into motion and subsequently jarred the train of Cloud's thoughts back to their previous track. Outside the window, the rushing city looked dark. It seemed funny - their world, a world of magic, so black. Night, day, climate: none of them existed in Midgar, because of the plate above. Underneath the plate lived the slum people. On the top lived the Shinra, the elite. Cloud had never seen the top, but he knew what it was like outside.

Barret had been watching him suspiciously like some great and omnipresent eagle, and he hadn't been making a secret of it.

"Pretty picture out there, ain't it?"

Cloud kept his eyes on the jumbling, rushing mass of grey and black and metal.

"It's depressing. I hate it."

Barret's stare was incredulous, Cloud could feel it.

"Didn't expect to hear that from a SOLDIER-dude like you. Usually them Shinra butt-lickers buy into all that 'Midgar is paradise' crap." He paused and looked outside as well."Yeah, even shit would get depressed lookin' at that. Up there, they got clean air to breathe, a sky to look at, while we're down here, underneath this screwed up, good-fer-nuthin', rottin'pizza."

Cloud looked back down at his boss, confused. The answer seemed so absurdly simple to him.

"So why doesn't everyone just climb up on to the top of the plate?"

"Why?" Barret's face had the expression of someone talking to some very small child. "'Cos maybe they ain't got the money, the power, the resources. Or maybe...they don't want to leave the land they love, no matter how polluted it gets. People got to live, _need_ to live. It's like this train - it don't stop movin' 'till the end of the line."

Cloud grunted in reply. In a way, he understood.

"So," Barret continued with a brash, business-like tone, "AVALANCHE are trying to make the land no one wants to leave into sumthin' more bearable to live in. That's why we're blowin' up the Mako Reactors. We don't want Mako drained outta the earth no more."

"Touching." Cloud replied, reverting back to his indifference. He didn't want to get too chummy with Barret. "And don't think your lovey-dovey world-peace act will haul me into your stupid raids anymore," he added, almost as an afterthought, "Because I'm leaving you guys as soon as this mission's done."

"_If_ you get out alive." Barret told him archly, irritated. "Any one o' those Shinra lackeys could have your hide at any time - y' only get one chance at a gig like this."

Cloud shrugged.

"Shi-t!" Barret exclaimed, with a mixture of incredulity and annoyance. "What you so calm for?! You bustin' up my rhythm!"

Cloud was tempted to tell him he should beat to a different rhythm but decided against it, for some reason. He shrugged again instead, and looked at Tifa sitting opposite. There was something solid and dependable about her somehow, because she knew him and he knew her; they were childhood friends, they had shared most of their lives together. He could hide nothing from Tifa. He tried to remember back, to the five of them: him, Tifa, Biggs, Wedge and Jessie. He found it difficult to. He'd hated Nibelheim. He'd been doped with too much Mako in SOLDIER to remember it.

The train shuttled on. Soon they would be arriving at the ID Checkpoint Zone, signaled by the alarm and the infrared lights that beamed through your body,checking out your ID cards.

Barret had been right. Life was like this train, running towards its inevitable end. And along the waythere were identity checkpoints too, tests of mettle and character. You could never get away from them.

"Hey Cloud, look at this."

It was Tifa calling him from the train monitor at the end of the carriage. She must have walked over there when he was busy thinking. Rising slowly, he got up to talk to her. She turned as he approached, smiling.

"It's got the train route here," she told him, pointing at the monitor screen, with it's impressive computerised scale drawing of Midgar adorning it. "Shall I explain it to you?"

"No thanks." Cloud replied carelessly. "I know it already. Jessie showed it to me yesterday on the way to Sector One."

Before Tifa could reply, an alarm signaled in the carriage, causing its occupants to jolt in shock.

"We've entered the ID checkpoint zone." Tifa whispered to Cloud. "The noise always gives me a fright."

Anything Cloud could have said was interrupted by the sound of a tinny female voice passing through the train's intercom.

"WARNING, WARNING, UNIDENTIFIED PASSENGERS DETECTED IN THE FIFTH CARRIAGE, ALL SHINRA PERSONNEL TO RETURN TO GUARD POINT IMMEDIATELY. I REPEAT, WARNING...WARNING..."

"God DAMMIT!!" Barret's voice rung like a foghorn over the fuzzy speech on the intercom and the ear-splitting alarm. "What the hell's goin' on? I thought the ID cards were all safe."

Jessie hurried to the door of the carriage, a pale shade spreading over her alarmed face. "I'm so sorry, it was all my fault!" She turned to open the door. "Right now we have to run to the end of the train to avoid detection. I'll explain later."

Cursing under his breath, Barret shoved open the door and signalled to the others.

"Let's get outta here!"

They hastily began to push and shove to the other end of the train, knocking over a few confused and bewildered passengers on the way. Finally, to Cloud's relief, they all managed to get safely to their destination at the end of the last compartment. Barret barked out his orders quickly.

"Right, Biggs, Wedge, Jessie, you stay here and get to the Reactor before us. I'm counting on you to sort out the security." He turned to Cloud and Tifa. "You two are gonna jump with me!"

"Jump?" Cloud repeated thickly.

"How else we gonna escape, Mr. Smart Ass?!" he yelled, losing patience. "By doin' a vanishing act or somethin'?"

So saying he threw open the train door,letting in a whirling mass of air that threatened to sweep the whole party off their feet.

"Kinda scary..." Tifa stated, pressing herself close to Cloud. Barret set his jaw.

"Then why'd you _come_?!" he roared.

Cloud noted the touch of colour that flushed Tifa's cheeks for a single split second.

"Because I..."

"Hey!" interrupted Biggs. "No time for chattin'! You three gotta jump!!"

Cloud hesitated. It wasn't that he was afraid, it was just that he really didn't think it wise to jump from moving trains anyway. Barret was getting annoyed.

"Lissen, you two jus' jump and I'll follow right behind. That enough encouragement for a coupla babies like you?"

Tifa, who'd been staring outside the open door at the wild blur of the tunnel they were travelling in, suddenly intervened.

"I've decided," she stated firmly ."I'm gonna jump."

She walked to the edge and made as if to leap forward. Cloud stepped forward, reached out for her and caught her by the waist.

"Tifa, don't!!"

But he'd been a second too late, because Tifa had already leaped into the fuzz of blackness. Shocked, Cloud found himself dragged out with her.

The rush of streaming air that greeted them as the train roared past seemed to throw them into a temporary limbo. It was one of those intensely frightening moments when time seemed to slow down. Both of them clutched onto each other, quite unable to brace themselves for the landing impact. The air pressure was just too great, and they ended up rolling a little way down the tunnel instead of landing on their feet.

Keeping low until the train had hurtled past, Cloud cursed under his breath.

"That bastard Barret," he grumbled, as the last of the carriages disappeared out of sight down the corner of the tunnel. "Should've taken my mercenary skills somewhere else..."

He picked himself and held a hand out to Tifa, who looked half dazed from the fall.

"You okay?" he asked, helping her to her feet.

"Just about." She seemed out of breath, and there were scratches on her knees and elbows.

"Are you sure? You're cut. I don't want you to break any bones."

"If I had broken any bones I wouldn't be up and walking, silly!" Tifa laughed, though she seemed pleased at his attention. "Still, it _was_ pretty scary. Thought we were gonna die!"

She brushed herself down and they began to run toward the end of the tunnel.

"There might be Shinra soldiers down here you know," she commented. Cloud turned to her in surprise.

"Are you sure they won't give you any trouble, Tifa?"

She shook her head.

"Nah. Besides, I have my fists to fight with. I'm the best fist fighter in Midgar City!"

Cloud didn't doubt it.

Barret was fuming by the time Tifa and Cloud arrived.

"What the helluv you two been doin' back there? We've got a job to do, there's no time to be goin' round chattin' each other up." He pointed to what had been bugging him. A wall of security sensors was blocking their path ."This is our problem. How the hell are we supposed to get through these blasted things without those pigs at Shinra Headquarters findin' out?"

A maddening silence followed.

"Well?!" Barret inquired, raising an eyebrow in Cloud's direction. Cloud made no answer. It wasn't fair for Barret to be picking on him all the time and he didn't particularly care for his dilemma either.

"There's a ventilation shaft," Cloud suggested, pointing at the tiny chute to their left.

"What?!!" Barret was incensed. "You're expecting me to fit into _that_ tiny lil' thing?!"

"Barret," Tifa cut in reassuringly, "there's no other way of getting to the Reactor, _except_ through the shaft."

Barret knew he had lost, and was unwilling to admit it.

"Yeah, yeah, okay then. But don't be surprised if I throw up on any of you. These things give me the creeps."

Tifa signalled for Cloud to get in before Barret could attempt anymore moaning and groaning. Willingly, he climbed in, Tifa following behind and then a doubtful Barret covering their rear.

The chute leads straight to the Sector Five Reactor. It was a complex structure of heavy machinery, wires and generators.

"You'd better not mess this up." Barret warned, hastily emerging from the pipe. He looked a little shaken. "But then, you shouldn't have any trouble finishing this off after yesterday's whole shebang." He paused. "Come on, let's move. Biggs, Wedge and Jessie are makin' sure the coast is clear. Should be a breeze."

It was not long before they encountered the other three. Wedge greeted them with a grin on his face.

"Wow, you made it!"

Jessie looked a little sheepish as they approached.

"I'm sorry about back there Barret. It was all my fault." She turned to Cloud. "It was your ID card, Cloud. I tried so hard to make it the best, but I failed. I guess I tried a little _too_ hard."

Cloud felt a little embarrassed, especially with Tifa next to him. "It's okay," he assured her, turning his face from Tifa. Jessie seemed to look a little relieved. She gave Cloud a grateful smile.

Biggs seemed slightly more optimistic. After decoding the sequence for the reactor door, he turned cheerfully to Cloud and the others.

"Well, you're all on your own now." He slapped Cloud on the back. "Make sure you blow that reactor. And don't forget the way out either."

"Good luck!" Wedge and Jessie added, and left the rest of the job up to their comrades.

Getting to the actual reactor was a lot trickier than anything that had come before. There were plenty of Shinra guards and their robotic cronies on the look out. They proved less of a threat than Cloud had first thought. With Barret and Tifa together with him, he found that it was easier to finish off enemies than when just by himself with his sword. Barret seemed to thrive on the battlefield, showing off with his big gun. Cloud resented his boss' stupidity and virtually ignored all his orders as they approached the reactor.

"This is it!" Barret exclaimed as they were faced with the gigantic edifice. "Won't be this lookin' so bloodyhigh an' mightyin the next ten minutes or so."

Cloud stared up at the reactor and it reminded him of something he had not remembered in years. There had once been a place like this in his past. There had been Tifa, right in the spot he was looking at now, and she had been kneeling beside the dead body of her father. Cloud could recall hearing her cries in his ears as he had watched on.

_"Sephiroth did this to you, didn't he papa!"_

The words had risen uncontrollably in volume and pain.

_"Sephiroth, SOLDIER...Mako Reactors...Shinra...everything!! For what they've done to you papa, I hate them all!!"_

Cloud had stood there, watched Tifa's pain and felt his own. _I will kill you Sephiroth_, had been his bitter resolution. _I will_ kill_ you_.

"God, get a grip on yourself man!"

The contempt in Barret's voice awoke Cloud from the disturbing emotions of his sudden flashback. There was something wrong, he knew it as he realised where he was, but he didn't know _what_. He had to ask Tifa. He had to know whether she remembered that memory too.

"Tifa..." he began breathlessly, unsure of how to say the words. She met his eyes innocently.

"What's the matter Cloud?"

There was a short pause. Cloud realised that he didn't even know what the words he wanted to say were. Barret stopped him from finding out.

"Look, there's no time for this kinda stuff," he intervened. "Just get on with settin' the bomb."

Cloud felt foolish. Why had he suddenly phased out anyway? "Yeah, you're right," he muttered and knelt down to set the bomb to the reactor. His fingers shook as he did so. What did it all mean? Tifa? Sephiroth...?

He stood up.

"It's all ready. We'd better get out of here."

"Ten minutes and counting!" Barret proclaimed unnecessarily. "Let's move out!"

They needed no further incentive. Headed by Barret, the team set off back the way they'd come from. It seemed unusually uneventful as they neared the entrance.

"I wonder where all the Shinra personnel are," Tifa thought out loud, lagging behind the others as they ran.

"Probably killed 'em all," Barret laughed but he had no longer strung off the sentence when a group of Shinra soldiers advanced from a side turning to block their way.

"Geez, why'd I have to speak so soon?" Barret muttered, then he barked out his next instructions. "Turn around! Find another exit!"

Unfortunately, Barret had spoken too soon for a second time. Double the amount of Shinra soldiers appeared to barricade their way once again.

"Dammit, we're surrounded!" yelled Barret. "Bloody Shinra vermin, come an' fight us like men!"

A staid, distinctive voice from ahead caused Barret to eat his words. A large, balding man in a grey suit was approaching them from the sidelines.

"Shinra 'vermin', eh? That's rich coming from you. If I'm not mistaken, it is _you_ who are the vermin."

"President Shinra!" cried Barret, Cloud and Tifa in unison.

"Quite," replied the distinguished man dryly. "And may I ask who you worthless people are?"

"Barret Wallace, leader of AVALANCHE, and don't you forget it!" Barret yelled impudently. Tifa flinched as she replied.

"Tifa Lockheart of AVALANCHE."

Cloud could sense that Tifa was afraid. He felt furious with President Shinra. He felt furious with everyone, but most of all with himself.

"Cloud Strife," he replied through gritted teeth, "ex-member of SOLDIER, rank, first class."

"Oh." the President's face was devoid of recognition. "Forgive me for not knowing everyone from SOLDIER's name. I wouldn't be likely too...unless they became another Sephiroth."

The mention of Sephiroth's name stirred Cloud, which was odd, because he hardly ever thought about Sephiroth anymore. Sephiroth, his childhood idol - there was something in that name, Sephiroth - it meant something....

"Sephiroth!" he breathed.

"Hmmm," the President mused. "We've had reports on his whereabouts. But then...that wouldn't concern you now, would it."

"Do you know where he is, President?!" Cloud persisted, desperately, not knowing why.

The question went largely unnoticed, mainly because of Barret's loud voice breaking in.

"None o' that crap! We've planted a bomb in this here reactor and any minute now it's gonna blow this place sky-high!"

"Is that so?" President Shinra remained unperturbed. "Isn't it too bad that it's going to take scum like you down with it."

"Scum?!" Barret was in a frenzy of anger. "You're the scum!"

The President remained as unperturbed as ever.

"I must say it was very pleasant to make your acquaintances. Forgive me for the little 'token' I've left of my friendship."

A whirring noise was heard from not far off. Cloud realised that it was coming closer. He moved back quickly, just in time to avoid the charging collision of a hulking robotic machine. In unison with the moment, a helicopter came hovering over to pick up its distinguished passenger. The President smiled smugly.

"It's called an air-buster." He was referring to the tank-like robot. "State of the art Shinra machinery. I wouldn't worry, it should have you finished off by the time the bomb blows."

He boarded the helicopter with an air of indifference. "Now, if you don't mind, I have a very important dinner to attend to. Enjoy your last few minutes together."

"You bastard...!!" Barret began to threaten, obviously planning on taking out the President in one way or another. Cloud called after him too. He needed an answer to his question.

"Hey, President Shinra, wait...!!"

The air-buster began to advance toward Barret and Tifa, seeming almost to sense Barret's angry threats.

"Cloud, help!" yelled Tifa, dwarfed by the monumental size of the thing.

"God, this is not my day," Barret muttered. "We're gonna haveta get rid of this thing before the bomb explodes!"

Cloud quickly stuffed a materia orb into his sword.

"I'll take it out with some lightning magic!" he yelled to the others. "Hopefully it should short-circuit it. In the meantime, hit it with your physical attacks!"

Barret obliged by aiming his gun at the air-buster and firing a few rounds.

"Bloody thing, this isn't working! Cloud, get a move on!"

Cloud was ready. Summoning the power of the materia, he managed to send a bolt of lightning speeding toward the machine. It didn't miss.

"I've done it, I've paralysed it!" he called.

"But only the front!!" Tifa screamed back. "God, he's turning his rear guns on us!"

The bullets from the robot's rear gun shot out toward Tifa and Barret like arrows from a quiver. Dodging them miraculously, Tifa rushed forward to connect with her fists. The robot seemed unaffected by the attack.

"Cloud, do something!" she hollered with what little energy she had left. Obliging, Cloud leaped up with all the strength he could muster and cleaved his sword into the metal monster. It immediately began to malfunction.

"Cloud, you've really done it now!" Barret warned. "It's gonna blow!"

But the caution came too late. With a seething hiss and then an almighty crash, the machine exploded, blowing away the floor from under Cloud's feet. In the madness of the moment, he somehow managed to grab on to a piece of hanging metal as he fell.

"Cloud!!" Tifa's voice gave him a reason to keep on holding on. He looked up at her.

"Tifa! Are you and Barret okay?!"

"Cloud, how can you say that?!" she called back, distressed. "It's you we've got to worry about!"

Cloud closed his eyes momentarily. He had to be strong, for her if for nothing else.

"I'm all right Tifa. I'm not letting go!"

He thought he saw tears in her eyes.

"Cloud, you _can't _die. There's so much I need to tell you!"

"Yeah, me too," he answered quietly, half to himself.

Barret's face appeared over the edge of the broken floor. "Hey, no time for that! We've gotta get you to safety!"

"No chance," Cloud breathed. His muscles ached from the strain of holding on. "Bye Barret. Bye...Tifa..."

"Whaddya mean 'Bye'?!" Barret exclaimed, a little too optimistically. "You're not gonna die!"

"Okay then. Later, Barret."

The meagre piece of metal was no match for Cloud's weight. He could feel that it was about to give way any moment now. He looked back at Tifa, one last time. The metal snapped.

"CLOUD!!"

Even Tifa's hopeless, pleading screams could not rouse Cloud from the overpowering blackness that enveloped his mind as he hurtled down toward the Sector Five slums.

* * *

_Next: Cloud meets the mysterious flower-girl who'll change his life forever..._


	4. PART 1 Aerith

**:: Chapter Three :: Aeris**

Cloud was not dead. He knew that, because he could hear a voice talking to him in the blackness. A deep, consuming voice that seemed to fill his entire being.

_Get up,_ it told him. _You're alive, Cloud. Get up._

Cloud groaned. He could not move. He could not speak.He was in pitchdarkness and he could not see. He was afraid and perplexed.

_Come on, Cloud,_ the voice interjected again._ You're okay, aren't you? You can wake up._

This time Cloud's senses began to work. He was aware of his breathing, of his body moving in rhythm to it, of his lungs filling with a sweet, pure air. But it was still black.

_I'm alive?_ he thought, his mind numb to the revelation. The voice answered.

_Yes. But it's different...now. Back then, you would get away with just a scrape on the knees._

Cloud was slipping away from the voice. He sensed it leaving him, as he began to clear the unconsciousness in his mind. He felt all the more confused because there was another voice going on and on in the background. Sucking in a breath, he willed his brain to move his fingers, and was relieved when they responded.

_What do you mean by 'back then'? And who are you anyway?_ he demanded of the voice, before he could lose touch with it completely.

The voice did not answer, and Cloud surfaced from the blackness and into consciousness.

* * *

The first thing to greet Cloud from the darkness was the warm glow of bright light, and then an even warmer pair of green eyes. It startled him that someone should have been watching over him while he had been unconscious. He wondered how long the person had been there. Groaning at his own foolishness, Cloud tried to open his eyes, but found the brightness too much for him. Slowly, a shadow passed over his face, and then a soft hand touched his cheek. 

"Are you okay?" inquired a disembodied voice in concern. Able to focus now, Cloud saw that the green eyes belonged to a girl.

"It's okay," she was saying soothingly "You're in a church ruin in the Sector Five slums." She looked up at the gaping hole in the roof above them and smiled. "It suddenly fell on top of me," she explained, good-naturedly. "It really gave me a scare."

Cloud slapped a hand to his forehead. Now that his eyes were working properly, he recognised his unassuming saviour as the flower girl he'd met yesterday. It was her eyes. He couldn't possibly forget those eyes...Sighing with relief, he opened his mouth.

"I...came crashing down?"

Come to think of it, Cloud didn't think he could ever forget her face either. She stood up.

"The roof and the flower bed must have broken your fall," she told him lightly. "You're lucky."

"Flower bed..." Cloud sprang to his feet and saw that he'd landed right in a bed of yellow primroses. "Are these yours? God, sorry about that."

The flower girl was regarding him with a pensive countenance.

"That's all right." She stepped away from him and stretched her arms out behind her back "The flowers here are resilient,since this is a sacred place. They say you can't grow grass or flowers in Midgar, but for some reason, flowers have no trouble blooming here." She turned away from him and the expression on her face changed. "I love it here," she added quietly.

Cloud could findno words to say to the girl as he watched her bend over her flowers and firm the earth around them. His mind was still reeling from his fall and from this latest encounter. As he looked at her now, he realised why it was that he'd approached her yesterday. There was something about her that no other girl he knew possessed, a silence, an almost unearthly tranquility.

"So, we meet again," she was saying, looking up at him from her flowers. When he did not reply, she questioned him again. "Don't you remember me?"

Cloud nodded his head.

"Yeah, I remember you. You were selling flowers."

A smile lit up the girl's face. "I'm glad." She stood up, rubbing her forehead, with the back of a slender hand. "And thanks for buying my flowers."

All Cloud could do was stand and stare, at a loss for words. Maybe the girl sensed his discomfort, for she spoke again.

"I was wondering, do you have any materia?"

Cloud shrugged in his habitual way.

"Yeah, some. Nowadays, it's hard to find materia anywhere."

The girl gave a furtive grin. "But mine is special. It's good for absolutely nothing."

Cloud was cynical. "Good for nothing? Sounds like you just don't know how to use it."

The girl shook her head.

"No, I do...it's just that it doesn't do anything, seriously. I just feel safe having it. My mother gave it to me..." Her eyes shifted to the hole in the church's roof. She leaned back against one of the broken pews and gave him a look. There was something in that look that he found odd, a look she'd given him the day before... A flicker of recognition that had clouded her eyes, as though she had _known_ him...

"Perhaps I should introduce myself," she spoke. "I'm Aeris Gainsborough."

Aeris, Cloud thought. Pretty name. It suited her.

"Cloud Strife." he replied, returning her gaze.

Just at that moment, someone entered at the back of the church, interrupting them. Cloud saw that he was wearing a dark blue suit, which looked clean and new, but was being worn in the scruffiest fashion possible. At first Cloud assumed that he was coming in to pray, but then it occurred to him that the man wasn't the type to come into churches and worship. He was too young and too up-front looking, and didn't look as if he believed in anything. Besides, religion was dead in Midgar.

Aeris didn't seem to notice the man at all, who said nothing but watched on quietly.

"So, what do you do?" she asked him conversationally.

Cloud forced his attention back to her.

"Me? Oh, I do a little bit of everything."

Hersmile was wry."Oh...a jack of all trades, I see."

"Yeah, I do whatever's needed."

The smile on her face unnerved him; it was as though he'd given exactly the answer she expected. When next she spoke her voice was softer. "Then...have you ever been a bodyguard? You _do_ do everything, right?"

"Pretty much."

Aeris looked pleased. "Then will you take me home?"

Cloudwas inwardly surprised at the suggestion but shrugged instead."It'll cost you."

"Will it?" Aeris looked serious, her eyes widening. "How about a date then? That okay?"

"What?" Cloud mouthed, taken off guard. His glance slid over to the man at the back of the church. Had he just heardAeris' proposal?

"A date," Aeris repeated, perhaps a little self-consciously. "I'm afraid flowers don't earn me enough to pay a man like you."

The words hardly seemed to find their way to Cloud's ears. He was more preoccupied with the presence of the other man. It was obvious he was up to something, the way he was just standing there and staring. Aeris' gaze followed Cloud's. She seemed strangely unmoved by the man's appearance, intimidating as he seemed to be. His eyes met Cloud's, and, as though trying tobait him,he gave a smug little grin in his direction. Cloud fell into the trap.

"What do you want?"

The man still had the aggravating smile painted on his face.

"A member of SOLDIER, I see you have there, Miss. Aeris."His voice was smooth, mocking."What a nice idea. It seems to make this little game of oursmore fun."

"Do I know you?" Cloud intervened.

"Reno, of the Turks," he introduced in a casual tone, running a hand through his reddish hair. "And I've come for the Ancient."

Ancient? The word struck a chord in Cloud's mind. Where had he heard the word 'Ancient' used before? And this man, Reno, he had come for an Ancient?

Turning to Aeris, Cloud tried to get this fresh question out of his mouth, but he should have known that this was not the time or place to do so. A pack of Shinra soldiers came barging in behind Reno, fully armed with guns and ammunition. Reno gave a look of arrogant self-satisfaction and smoothed his hair lazily.

"You see, Miss. Aeris, it would be much better if you co-operated," he informed the girl mildly. "We don't want to hurt you."

One of the soldiers, who had noticed Cloud, suddenly spoke up.

"What shall we do with the guy, Reno? He looks as if he might give us some trouble."

"Yeah, and I will, if you're planning on doing anything to this girl!" Cloud cut in defiantly.

Reno looked mildly surprised at the outburst, and slightly amused. He laughed.

"Well, that would figure. After all, you are her 'bodyguard', right?"

Aeris stopped Cloud as he was about to challenge the other.

"It's no good taking them on, Cloud." she whispered urgently to him "They out-number you, and they've got guns. We've got to run."

"Where?"

Aeris looked about her hastily.

"There's an exit behind us, let's run for it."

"But..."

"You're my bodyguard, right? I can trust in you, I know it."

Cloud nodded slowly.

"It's no use going anywhere," Reno informed them. "The slums are our patch and we know it like the back of our hands. We'll catch you in the end."

Cloud made no replyreply, and, grabbing Aeris' hand quickly, he began to run toward the exit.

"We'll catch you!" Reno repeated, but they had no time to listen to idle threats. Running into the vestry at the front of the church, Cloud encountered a dead end.

"That's it, we're trapped!" he exclaimed. Aeris shook her head.

"No. There's some stairs that lead to beams on the ceiling." She pointed. "We'll have to go up through the hole in the roof."

Cloud looked up. It seemed a little risky as the wood appeared to be rotting, but there was no other way.

"Okay, let's go!"

As they were racing up the stairs, the footsteps of the Shinra soldiers could be clearly heard approaching from the front of the church. The cock of rifles echoed from down below as Cloud and Aeris neared the roof's hole.

"They're going to shoot!" she gasped.

Cloud looked about quickly, and noticed some barrels of fermenting beer that someone had conveniently left a little way off. As they ran past the nearest one, he kicked it viciously off the edge of the beam and sent it tearing down to the company of soldiers down below.

Cloud turned quickly back to the hole in the roof, taking a last look at Reno and his injured men, who were cursing at their failure. Some had managed to get up and were making to pursue Aerith again. However, as though suggesting an omen dooming their efforts to disaster, the whole stairway collapsed. The enemy was left at the bottom, swearing savagely at their calamitous luck.

* * *

Both Cloud and Aeris were out of breath as they reached the top of the church roof. Rearranging her hair, Aeris began to laugh ruefully. 

"They've been looking for me again. Don't those guys ever give up?"

Cloud was shocked. "How many times have they been after you?!"

She was complacent. "I'm not sure."

Cloud scratched his head in confusion.

"I didn't want to mention it earlier, but I recognised that man's uniform. He's from the Turks, otherwise known as the Shinra Manufacturing Department into Administration Research. But the fancy name means nothing."

"Really?" She looked at him questioningly.

"They're always out scouting for possible candidates for SOLDIER." Cloud continued. "And they get involved with plenty of dirty stuff on the side... murder...kidnapping...you know..."

"So I guess they're Shinra Mafia, huh?" she said, wryly.

"Uh-huh." Cloud stared back at her in puzzlement. "But why are they after you? There must be a reason."

Aeris shrugged.

"Maybe they think I'm cut out to be in SOLDIER."

"Maybe you are." He paused. "Do you want to join?"

She gave a small laugh."You really think I want to get mixed up with people like that Reno back there?"

"Touche." Cloud replied candidly. "Well, we'd better get going before those jokers find us."

* * *

The only way of passing through without getting noticed was over the rooftops. Cloud had no problem getting over the tightly packed houses of the slums, but Aeris soon began to fall behind him. 

"Wait!" she demanded after a while. "Cloud wait!!"

He stopped and turned to face her as she rejoined him. Resting her hands on her knees to regulate her breathing, she looked up at him through her loosened hair.

"Slow down, Cloud...don't leave me..." She was stopped short by her need for air. Cloud looked at her in amusement.

"Funny..." he commented, "...I thought you were meant to be cut out to be in SOLDIER."

She stood up straight and placed her hands on her hips in mock offence. "Oh! You're terrible!"

As though breaking off the absurdness of the moment, they both began to laugh.

"Oh!" Aeris suddenly exclaimed between her giggles. "That's good!"

"What is?" Cloud asked, feeling lighter now as he tried to contain his laughter. She looked at him apologetically.

"Just you. I've never seen you smile before, let alone laugh. It's a relief to see you can." She began to laugh again at his sudden turn of seriousness. The thought that he had not smiled in a long time disturbed Cloud. He was just about to ask her if it bothered her, when he realised that this was the first time he'd ever got to take her in properly.

_She is beautiful_, he thought suddenly, _she's too good to be living here in Midgar City_. He felt himself colouring. He didn't know why, but he felt attracted to her in a weird sort of way -it was the reason why he'd approached her yesterday. He could see in her a sort of child-like innocence, the kind that had made him connect her to Marlene. And Marlene had pretty eyes, just like Aeris, except Aeris' were green.

"Cloud, can I ask you a question?" She had stopped laughing and he forced himself to cease thinking.

"Sure. What?"

She looked cautious before she spoke.

"You were in SOLDIER, weren't you?"

Cloud was quiet for a moment.

"I used to be," he replied shortly. "But you're only repeating what that Reno said."

She shook her head.

"Your eyes told me before that. They have the glow of Mako."

"How'd you know about that?" he asked, surprised.

"Oh, nothing, it doesn't matter," she answered quickly.

"Nothing?" Cloud raised an eyebrow and she grinned at him.

"Right, nothing!" She began to walk on past him "Let's go...bodyguard!!"

Feeling a tiny bit bewildered byher sudden evasiveness, Cloud followed her over the roofs and through the centre of the miserable slums of Sector Five. The ghettos were infested with leering drunks in dark corners and emaciated mongrels scavenging in rubbish tips. Everything was disgusting, dirty and falling apart around the local residents. Cloud was sickened even walking through it all.

When they got to a certain part of the town, Aeris stopped.

"My house is just through here," she informed him. "Mother should be home."

"Mother?"

Sheignored the question and led him through an opening in the slum wall and into a clearing. Cloud took in the place with an element of surprise. The house was old, but had been beautifully constructed. The backdrop was framed by a waterfall splashing from a hole in the plate above down into a shimmering lake. A large flower garden lay nearby, full of roses, bluebells, daffodils and snowdrops. Aeris seemed pleased at his astonishment.

"Sunshine," she prompted, nodding to the shaft of light escaping from the hole's plate. "They say it doesn't exist in Midgar. But it does here."

"It's like a dream," Cloud murmured and she nodded solemnly.

Aeris' mother wore an anxious look on her face as Cloud and Aeris entered the house. It was obvious she was suspicious ofher daughter'snew acquaintance.

"Aeris, who's this?" she inquired, concern in her face. Aeris smiled.

"It's all right mum, he's Cloud, my bodyguard. Cloud, this is my mum, Elmyra."

Elmyra was alarmed.

"Bodyguard?! Don't tell me those swine from Shinra came after you again!"

"I was fine, Cloud was with me," Aeris reassured. Elmyra seemed convinced. She turned to Cloud. "Thanks Cloud. I really appreciate this. Those men have been chasing Aeris for ages now."

"Mum," Aeris cut in quickly. "It's all right, I'm safe now, aren't I."

Elmyra clicked in frustration and walked into the kitchen. Aeris shrugged.

"She's always so over-protective."

Cloud didn't answer. He was beginning to feel apprehensive about Barret and Tifa. He really needed to get back to Seventh Heaven. He turned to Aeris.

"Aeris, do you know how to get to Sector Seven from here? I've got to see Tifa at the Seventh Heaven bar."

Aeris looked at him with an incredulous look on her face.

"Tifa? Is Tifa a girl?"

"Uh...yeah." Cloud replied reluctantly, seeing where this was leading.

"A...girlfriend?"

Despite having already sensed the present situation beforehand, Cloud felt himself colouring. "Well...no, not exactly..." he stumbled, but Aeris interrupted hastily.

"Oh, I didn't mean to embarrass you..." She let him regain his composure for a moment then spoke again. "Well, let me think... to go to Sector Seven, you'll have to go past Wall Market in Sector Six. It's pretty dangerous, so I'll have to help you."

Now that Cloud had got over his embarrassment at being reminded of Tifa, he had the chance to get indignant.

"Help me?! No way! I don't need help from a girl!"

"What!" It was Aeris' turn to feel annoyed.

"I can't let you get into danger," Cloud insisted.

"I'm used to it," she guaranteed. "Besides I should be all right with my bodyguard with me."

"We only agreed that I'd be your bodyguard until I got you home," he said sulkily.

"What do you say about me owing you two dates then?" She did not wait for an answer, but turned to the kitchen. "Mum, I'm taking Cloud to Sector Seven, okay?"

Elmyra reappeared from the kitchen.

"Aeris...you really don't care about getting yourself into danger, do you?" She sighed. "It's no use trying to stop you, so I'll say no more. But at least rest up until tomorrow morning. It's too late to be going down to that Sector Six at this time in the evening."

They agreed on this, and Aeris went upstairs to prepare a room for Cloud. Elmyra sighed.

"I'm sorry. I know I treat her like a child, but I can't help it, she's always such a handful, though you wouldn't think it." She turned and looked at Cloud closely. "I have a favour to ask of you," sheasked. "I don't really know how to put this, but...will you leave here tonight, without telling Aeris? I don't want her getting hurt. Do you understand?"

Cloud thought about it. The trip here had been a needless detour, and much as he enjoyed Aeris' company, he really had to be getting back to Barret and Tifa and didn't want to bring the flower girl into any of his rebel business.

"All right," he said at last."I promise."

Aeris appeared, interrupting them. Cloud was lead upstairs and she showed him his room. He expected to find a bed to shame all others, and he was not disappointed. Aeris had made a good job in aid of his comfort. Dumping his armour on the ground haphazardly, he sat down on the end of the bed.

"Cloud?" Aeris' voice was gentle as she said it. He turned to her and she smiled suddenly. "Goodnight."

The door was closed softly behind her and Cloud lay back on the bed. He felt elated. Hefelt alive. He was on this soft, silky bed. And he had met Aeris.

He thought of the words she said and the way she looked at him. There was something she was not telling him, but he couldn't put his finger on what he thought it was.

Aeris was mysterious. She was different. But most of all, she was beautiful.

* * *

_...You seem pretty tired..._

The voice penetrated into Cloud's dreaming conscience, rousing him from the depths of his colourless dreams.

_I haven't slept in a bed like this...in a long time._

Cloud was awake to it now.

_No_, he replied. _I haven't. Not since..._

_Not since that time._

Cloud remembered 'that time'. He'd been lying on a bed like the one he was in now, five years ago, at his home in Nibelheim. And yes, his mother had been there. She had been talking to him, about his job in SOLDIER, about so many empty, pointless things. And he could not remember why, but her words had irritated him.

_'...Cloud, I will always be your mother...'_

Of course; Mother.She was always there, he'd been in her womb, in the beginning.

But it did not matter anymore. It had passed.

And yet he remembered.

* * *

Cloud awoke and immediately recalled his promise to Elmyra. He wondered how long he had been asleep. Sitting up in bed, he looked at the clock on the wall opposite. It was nearly four O'clock in the morning. He really should have gone earlier.

Sighing, Cloud got out of bed and slipped on his armour. Opening and shutting the door behind him slowly, he wondered if Aeris was awake. He felt somehow reluctant to leave her, but a promise was a promise, and he was probably better off without her. He didn't want to have to be responsible for her if she got hurt.

Creeping on to the landing and down the stairs, Cloud considered saying goodbye to her, but soon cast away the idea, feeling slightly foolish for it. No, he didn't need her.

"Past Wall Market, Sector Six," he muttered to himself. "I should be okay."

Was he crazy?

Gently pushing open the front door, he looked back one last time. He got the impression that he'd been doing too much of that sort of thing lately, but it was too late to go back now.

Cloud shut the door firmly behind him.

-oOo-

* * *

_Next: The return of AVALANCHE and Aeris is kidnapped..._


	5. PART 1 Underneath the Rotting Pizza

**A/N:** Thanks to all those who've commented so far... And just in case you're confused, the title comes from the Sector Five song on the soundtrack. ; ) Enjoy!

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* * *

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**:: Chapter Four :: Underneath the Rotting Pizza**

As Cloud wandered through the bleak, desolate slums, he wondered blankly whether, if there were no plate above him, the sun would be shining through by now.

He sighed. The slums depressed him -it was the dark, claustrophobic atmosphere and the dingy,drabness that gave an almost nightmarish impression. The people stared at him with glazed expressions on their faces as he walked past. They were the sorts of people you would have expected to live in the slums: drunks, rogues, thieves, beggars. However, there was one man who caught Cloud's eye, a man that did not look his way. Sitting next to a pile of rubbish and shattered debris, he sat in the midst of his ashen rags, chin buried in his chest, white foam gathering at the corner of his mouth. And then, something more caught Cloud's eye. On the man's upper arm was a tattoo. A tattoo of the number twelve. A tight sensation clamped around the pit of Cloud's stomach. It was just a normal-looking tattoo. So why did it make him feel so uneasy?

Cloud turned a sharp corner and was almost blinded by the bright light of a buzzing neon sign. Below it stood the open gate to Sector Six. Cloud stared up at the faulty sign.

"Sector Six," he mumbled to himself. "But why's the gate open?"

No sooner had he got the words past his lips, than a sound to his left startled him. Swivelling around abruptly, Cloud saw that someone had been standing and watching him. Before he could draw his sword, the person moved out into the dim light. It was Aeris.

"You're up early," she greeted rather sarcastically, a small smile on her face. Cloud was dumfounded. He hadn't in his wildest dreams expected her to turn up here and now.

"Were you going to leave without me?" she asked him, still grinning. Cloud found himself pouring out excuses in a rush.

"I couldn't let you come with me, Aeris, it's dangerous. You never know what kind of people hang round these places...Not to mentionthat Reno from the Turks could turn up again...you don't want him to cause you trouble again, do you...?"

She passed him a sardonic look, raised a well-marked eyebrow.

"Are you done yet?"

Cloud halted his torrent of nonsense and took in a deep breath. Why did he let himself get caught up in these things? He shook his head.

"Aeris, how can I let you go with me? You're a nice girl, you should be..."

"Staying at home, cooking, cleaning and doing the washing?" she interrupted, indignantly. "No way! Danger's my middle name - I'm always in trouble!" She didn't wait to hear his protests. "Now let's see. If we go past this gate, there's the Sector Six junkyard. Then there's the Sector Seven gate. From there, you should be able to find Tifa's Seventh Heaven!" She looked up at him with an eager expression. "Well, what are you waiting for?"

Before he could even think of stopping her,she had walked right through the gate and into Sector Six. Shrugging, Cloud resigned himself to carrying on his journey with a new companion. He couldn't help feeling secretly pleased at having Aeris with him, though he was reluctant to admit it to himself. Shaking his head in disbelief at the whole situation, Cloudhurried after Aeris and into the Sector Six junkyard.

Wandering through the place for half an hour did nothing for Cloud's rathernervy disposition. The site stunk, and it was all too easy to get lost amongst the rotting piles of refuse and rusty hunks of decrepit machinery. Aeris seemed blissfully unaware of this however, and it was mainly her jaunty frame of mind that kept up their hopes of escaping the rubbish tip. When at last they did, they encountered a small enclosure that Aeris seemed very pleased to see. It was an ancient, disused playground.

"Wow, I don't believe this is still here!"

She walked up to the gate and pushed it open. It unfastened with a creak, the lock collapsing off its handle. Cloud walked up behind her gingerly.

"Aeris...shouldn't I be taking you back home now?" he ventured,somewhat unsettled byher cheerful countenance. She turned on him, indignant surprise on her face. "What?! Take me back when you've only just got here?!"

"Well, I thought you wouldn't want to stay round _this_ place. And it's only good manners to take you back..."

She was incredulous.

"Good manners?! Cloud, what is it with you and all this chivalry?" She looked at the playground, then turned back to him. "Why don't we rest up a while before we move on? The Sector Seven gate is just up there, so you shouldn't worry about spending another age to find it."

Cloud shrugged. He couldn't imagine himself convincing her that she shouldn't be wandering in this kind of place with a guy like him. Besides his sense of duty was being overruled by the pleasure of her company. He tagged along behind her into the playground and up to a dilapidated, crumbling slide. It had once been snowy white, but now dust had left it ashen, and its dome-shaped form had most of it's paint peeling. Aeris ran up to the back of it, climbed the ladder and sat on the top. She waved at him.

"Cloud, up here!"

Obligingly, but trying not to seem too willing, he climbed up the flaking ladder and sat down next to her. Aeris shifted her position so that the length of her arm rested lightly against his. A shiver fluttered through him. He couldn't recall the last time he'd felt a girl's touch like that. He looked down at her head of auburn hair. He could almost feel the warmth of her cheek touch his shoulder. Clearing his throat awkwardly, he looked away from her, anywhere. The uneasy instant was cancelled by her voice.

"Cloud," she asked unexpectedly, "what rank were you in?"

He started.

"What do you mean, 'rank'?"

She looked up at him.

"I mean in SOLDIER."

For a moment Cloud found it inexplicably hard to answer. In that short space of time he had completely forgotten. Then he remembered.

"I was in first class," he replied quickly.

Aeris looked down at her hands, twining her fingers together, in and out.

"Oh. You were in the same class as him," she sighed dreamily.

"Him?" Cloud was strangely perturbed by the wistful look on her face. She didn't look at him, and the yearning expression remained.

"My first love," she breathed.

Cloud felt ruffled. He edged closer to her, reluctantly spilling the words out.

"Were you...serious?"

Aeris seemed to awaken from her reverie and shook her head vehemently.

"No. But I liked him for a while."

Cloud settled back down, feeling disturbingly only half-satisfied.

"What was his name? I might have known him."

She looked past him again, her features brittly enigmatic, softly delicate.

"His name? It'd be pointless to tell you, really. It's all in the past..."

Before she could finish off her sentence, Cloud's stomach gave a disconcerting grumble. He clutched at his middle in embarrassment, willing himself not to blush.She grinned up at him.

"Hungry?"

Cloud nodded self-consciously, but she remained good-natured.

"There's this wonderful restaurant in Wall Market," she exclaimed. "Come on, I'll show you."

She led him promptly to Wall Market, and he was astounded to find that it wasn't just a market at all. It was almost the size of a small village from the look of things, filled with people and the insistent haggling of customer and salesman. The market's restaurant was nearby.

"It has an excellent Wutainese barbecue service," she put in cheerfully, as they entered the building. It was extremely busy, but it had a pleasant, cosy atmosphere. The smell of sweet roast duck and aromatic fried rice filled the room with a pungentyet fragrant perfume. The sound of a frying pan sizzling at the corner was almost mesmerising, and the babble of gossiping voices and thick layer of steam was almost soothing to the senses. Cloud sat at the nearest two-seater table, and was almost immediately served by the waiter.

"What'll it be?" he gabbled off almost ritually.

Cloud couldn't think of anything else - anyway, he'd hardly had time to glance at the menu as it was.

"Two Wutainese barbecues," he ordered hastily, keeping in time with the rhythm of the place. The waiter said nothing, but hurried off in a rush, and they were soon served with two appetising dishes. Whenthey werefinally full, they set off back to the Sector Seven gate.

* * *

It was harder to get through than the Sector Six gate. It needed a code to get through, but Aeris seemed to know it straight off already. The gate slid open and they both walked through. 

"Well, here we are,"she said, closing the door again with the push of a button. "You should be able to get to Seventh Heaven easily now."

"Are you coming with me?" Cloud asked her, trying to sound indifferent to her answer. She looked at him with a small smirk.

"Funny. I was just about to say that there was no way you were going to get rid of me now."

He grinned at her.

"I thought you'd say that." He turned toward the Sector Seven slums. "Well, I guess we'd better go."

They began to walk through to the slums and the run-down shops. Soon the Seventh Heaven came into sight, but there seemed to be a strangely quiet atmosphere hanging round the bar. Aeris noticed the look of bewilderment on his face.

"Cloud, what's wrong?"

"It's just...quiet." he replied, as they neared the building. They walked up the staircase in step, both warily. At the top, Cloud opened the door with a silent push of the hand. There didn't appear to be anyone inside, though the lights were on.

"Tifa?" he called into the stillness.

Abruptly, there was the sound of thudding footsteps on the stairs, and Tifa appeared, looking flustered and out of breath. She greeted him with a look of incredulous consternation.

"Cloud! Is that really you?! I thought you were dead!"

She looked as if she would run to him and hug him, but stopped when she saw Aeris.

"Who's this?" There was an edge to her voice that spelt trouble. Cloud noted it and tentatively introduced his companion.

"This is Aeris. She helped when I fell from the reactor in Sector Five. Plus, she helped me get back here. Aeris, this is Tifa, my childhood friend."

Aeris smiled in her usual unpretentious way, seeming quite comfortable with the awkward meeting.

"Hi, Tifa, nice to meet you. Cloud's told me about you." She looked round the room in appreciation "Nice place you've got here."

Tifa seemed to become a little more relaxed.

"Thanks," she replied, then she suddenly shook her head. "I'm sorry I was so off-hand, it's just..."

Aeris cut in quickly.

"Oh, it's not what you're thinking. Cloud and I are just friends."

"Oh, Cloud and I are just friends too," Tifa added as soon as Aerith had finished her sentence.

Cloud looked at them both with a sense of irony. He suddenly had this premonition that if he wasn't very careful, a disaster of drastic proportions might occur between the three of them. Aeris noticed the grimace on his face and suddenly broke into a wide smile.

"Poor Cloud, here we are, saying he's nothing!"

Tifa grinned, then let out a sigh.

"Really though, Cloud," she said suddenly. "I'm glad you're back."

"Why, what is it?" he stared round. "And where are the others? Is Barret okay?"

"You'd better sit down," Tifa said, and when they had, she let out a deep breath.

"You see, it all happened after we lost you. We got out before the bomb exploded, but our escape wasn't as effective as we'd hoped. The Shinra caught us, but we put up a fight and got free.

"The trouble is, Barret realised the President would try to find a way to get rid of us for good, and make the slum people think we were the villains to make this effective. Knowing Barret and his contacts, he went off and threatened some men into telling him the Shinra's plans."

She paused, looking up at Cloud with large, frightened eyes.

"They're going to destroy Sector Seven, Cloud!"

"What?!" Cloud was shocked "They can't do that! How can they _possibly_ do it?!"

"It's simple," Tifa explained fearfully yet patiently. "They're going to destroy the pillar that holds up the plate. When it crashes down, Sector Seven's slums will be wiped out! And the worst thing is, they're going to blame it on AVALANCHE and say it was our doing!"

"But that's terrible!" Aeris exclaimed. "All these people will die!"

"Where are Barret and the others?" Cloud asked quickly.

"They went to see what was going on at the pillar," Tifa replied breathlessly. "He told me to look after Marlene until he came back."

Cloud stood up quickly. Tifa looked at him nervously.

"Cloud?"

"We've got to go," he told her, without a second thought.

"But..."

"Tifa, Barret needs all he help he can get!" He turned to Aeris, but she stopped him before he could speak.

"Yeah, I know... it's too dangerous for me."

"Sorry," he apologised, truly regretful.

"Look, if you really want to help," Tifa interjected quickly, "could you please take Marlene to a safe place? She's upstairs, asleep."

Aeris stood up and nodded.

"Of course. You two had better get going before anything bad happens."

Cloud took a deep breath in and turned to Tifa.

"Let's go."

"Good luck," Aeris put in.

"We'll need it," Tifa finished.

* * *

There was a babble of noise going on round the pillar as Cloud and Tifa approached. It seemed that the Shinra were already up to their dirty work. Groups of people were gathered beneath the column. It was a large, metal construction, with stairs running up around it to the top of the plate. Dropping down would mean quite a fall, and certain death. 

A man noticed Tifa nearing the group.

"Tifa, Barret's up there with the others!" he pointed upward. A gunfight was going on and there were various Shinra helicopters trying to land. Miraculously, Barret had managed to hold them off. Tifa raised her hands and quietened the crowd of hysterical people.

"Listen, you lot have _got_ to find a safe place! When this pillar collapses, the plate'll kill you all! Move out, now!"

The people began to disperse reluctantly. Obviously they had been enjoying the excitement of a showdown between AVALANCHE and the Shinra.

Cloud and Tifa began to climb the huge flight of steps. They hadn't got far when they saw a bundled heap on the floor. It was Wedge.

"Wedge!" Tifa ran up to him, turned him over on to his back. His round, pasty face was pale, drawn, tired. There was a gaping gunshot wound to his chest.

"Tifa...Cloud..." he choked.

Tifa bent over him, trying hard to fight back tears.

"Shh, Wedge, you'll be okay, you'll be okay!"

Wedge smiled in resignation, shook his head.

"Nope, not this time Tifa... not now..."

Cloud knelt down, examined the wound. He knew Wedge wouldn't make it. Gently, he spoke to him.

"Wedge...where are Biggs and Jessie?"

"Biggs fell...Jessie too...they were both shot..." There were tears in the man's eyes as he gasped for breath. "...Cloud...Jessie says... 'goodbye'..."

"Wedge!!" Tifa cut him off, gripped his shirt with whitened knuckles. "You're not going to die! I won't let you!"

"Tifa..." Wedge smiled at her as best he could, " I was always just a coward. But right now, you and Cloud...you gotta help Barret. Let me die in peace."

Tifa nodded numbly. Laying Wedge back down tenderly, she stood up and looked at Cloud with watery eyes.

"These Shinra bastards!! We've got to take them out!!"

They both began to sprint up to the top of the pillar. Barret was there, holding back the helicopters with his gun. He turned in surprise when he saw Cloud and Tifa.

"Cloud!! You're back! So you're stayin' with AVALANCHE after all!"

Tifa ran up to him.

"Barret, Wedge is dead! We can't let this go any further!"

Barret gritted his teeth.

"These Shinra scum! I'm not lettin' them get away with this!"

The whirr of helicopter wings drowned out his voice. Cloud, Tifa and Barret turned to face the sound. A man was at the helicopter's door and he jumped lithely from the flying machine and on to the pillar platform. Cloud gasped in recognition.

"Reno!!"

Reno, unruffled as ever, began to advance casually toward the group.

"Ah, the name's Cloud, if I'm not mistaken," he replied, mockingly. "And we meet again so soon."

"Shut up, you Shinra bastard," Barret hissed. "You think you're so hot jus' 'cos you're gonna blow this joint to bits, don't you? Well, you gon' haveta get through me first!"

He aimed to fire, but Reno put out a hand.

"I must warn you that you are surrounded by our newest Shinra helicopters. It would be quite futile for you to shoot me - unless you really want to end up as a corpse full of holes on the floor."

"You can't do this!" Tifa cried. Reno noticed her presence, and cast an approving eye on her.

"Hmmm." He walked casually up to the three and caught Tifa roughly by the chin "I wouldn't want to have to hurt you, my dear. We wouldn't want you to have your pretty face scratched now, would we."

Tifa wrenched her face out of his hands.

"Let's see if _you_ would," she seethed through grit teeth, and with the words, thrust her fist right into Reno's left cheek. He sprawled back, shock moulded onto his bleeding face.

"You bitch! How dare you...!"

Cloud fleetingly realised Reno's face was his weak spot. The man was a narcissist. He couldbarely hide his laughter at the absurdness of it all.

Reno continued furiously.

"Now I'm really mad! There's no way I'm letting you three get away now!" He walked calmly to the pillars' computer system and flourished a small device. "In five minutes, this goes off. It's time for you lot to say bye bye."

Turning round, he fixed the bomb to the side of the system. Then he ran back to where the helicopter was waiting, wiping the blood from his face with a look of relish.

"Sayonara!"

"Oh no, you don't!" Barret, ignoring the threat of helicopter gunfire, let out a few rounds from his own gun in Reno's direction. But Reno was fast. He dodged, jumped deftly into the helicopter - but in the process didn't escape unscathed. A bullet just managed to catch his right leg. The helicopter whizzed off heedlessly, it's passenger safely inside.

"Damn!" Barret cried.

Tifa had run to the bomb. "Cloud, how do we stop this?!"

Cloud hurried to the device. It was like none he'd ever seen before. He pressed desperately at the buttons.

"It must be a new kind of bomb," he answered, giving up. "God, how did the Shinra come up with _this_ one?"

The sounds of another helicopter approaching made them look up. Another man was standing at the open door, and he too wore the Turks uniform, but with a panache and grace that Reno lacked. His long black hair was streaming behind him in the swirling wind, and his eyes were two dark slits.

"There's no point in trying to deactivate the bomb," he said in a firm, smooth voice. "It is being programmed to explode direct from the Shinra Headquarters. You might as well save yourselves first."

Barret rushed forward, his eyes ablaze.

"And who the hell are you?!"

"My name is Tseng," the man replied softly, "and I am the leader of the Turks."

"Oh yeah?" Barret yelled back. "Well I think I'm gonna take you down with this bomb!"

He put his arm out to shoot, but Tseng stopped him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. You might injure our very distinguished guest."

From inside the helicopter, someone was pushed forward roughly. Cloud jumped.

"Aeris!"

Aeris did not attempt to struggle, but she began to call out to them loudly.

"Tifa! She's all right! I took her back to my home! She's safe! She's...!"

Her words were cut short by a resounding slap across the face from Tseng. The force of the strike sentthe girlreeling backward across the floor into a crumpled heap.

"Aeris!" Cloud took a step forward. "Don't worry, we'll get you out of this!"

Tseng did not lose his poise.

"I'm afraid that is quite out of the question. You may as well say a last goodbye to your friend right now. Even if you do survive the bomb, you won't be seeing her again for a very long time."

"What do you mean?" Cloud cried, his voice almost inaudible against the helicopter wings.

"I mean that the Turks have been assigned to find the last remaining Ancient, and that now we can finally report our mission as accomplished," Tseng replied, tactfully avoiding the question. "President Shinra has been very keen to see that we gain Miss. Aeris' co-operation. Now..." He waved to the man at the helicopter controls with a rapid movement of the hand "...I have some important business to attend to. Forgive me for cutting our time together short."

The helicopter clamoured away into the distance. Cloud stared after it and Aeris in frustration. Shaking his head, he punched the pillar viciously.

"Dammit, why this?!"

Tifa wore a petrified expression.

"Cloud, we've got to get out of here!"

Barret suddenly interrupted them.

"Hey, you guys, come here!" He held out a long wire in his hands that had been broken from the plate by the razor-sharp helicopter wings. "This is our only hope of escape."

"We're going to _swing_ out of Sector Seven?!" Tifa was horrified by the notion. "It's absurd!"

Cloud grinned, grabbed on to the line and climbed the pillar railing so that he stood at the edge.

"I'll admit, it's a novel idea, but it's our only way out, Tifa. Unless you want to go down with the bomb. Or get squashed by the plate."

"All right, all right, I guess we'll have to." She climbed up behind Cloud and held on to him. "I'm counting on you, right?"

Barret gripped on to the wire and turned to the others.

"Right, we're movin' out!"

He pushed at the rail with his foot; and they were in the air, sailing out of Sector Seven, just as the bomb detonated behind them. Cloud managed to look back over his shoulder as the impact forced them away. The pillar was crashing to the ground, into the slums, and into all the innocent people down below.

* * *

The President watched from the window of his room, the fans buzzing seductively, tickling the back of his neck. The helicopters were there, whirring busily back to HQ, and the plate was falling downward, and there was nothing but smouldering dust, and then silence. 

It wouldn't cost much, he thought, only several million slum people, a few hundred Shinra employees from the top of the plate. It didn't matter. He had the girl - he had the Promised Land. Midgar was his whim, he could rebuild Sector Seven whenever, and if ever, he wanted.

The President sighed with sudden boredom, and turned away from the sickening sight, the strains of Haydn's _The Creation_ flowing passionately behind him.

* * *

_Next: The remnants of AVALANCHE set out to rescue Aeris..._


	6. PART 1 Infiltrating the Shinra Building

**A/N:** To **Tacofoolio **and **Kokorohikaru -** yeah, I know, naughty me... No Wall Market fun. TT As it happens, I did write a Wall Market chappie, but it just seemed so superfluous when I went back and read over it, like an extra bit that wasn't really needed, and remember, this story was waaay long and I was trying to get to all the exciting bits once they get out of Midgar in Part Two. :p I think there are only a couple more chapters before we get there. :p

-oOo-**

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**: Chapter Five : Infiltrating the Shinra Building**

In a whirl of hurtling metal and debris, Cloud, Tifa and Barret landed and skidded across a flinty, unyielding ground, their bodies scorched by the shards of broken rock and wreckage. Behind them, the resonant thunder of the plate crashing down filled their ears like an earthquake.

They did not dare to move until it had disappeared. It was hard to even tell when it had all ended. A low rumble lasted for several minutes after the actual explosion, and the atmosphere was thick and ominous. Cloud did not stir until he felt Tifa shifting beside him. Gradually, they pulled themselves off the ground.

"You okay?" Cloud breathed out to her, his mouth full of grit and dust. She put a hand to her head in order to still it.

"Yeah, I think so..."

"AAAARRRRGGGGHHHHHH!"

Cloud and Tifa looked up, startled. Barret was standing not far off, smashing his fist against a pile of rubble that had once been part of Sector Seven's plate.

"God dammit, God bloody dammit!" he yelled into the echoey, empty air. Tifa ran to him.

"Barret, calm down, it's over, it's all over!"

Barret shook his head viciously.

"No way is itover yet! They've destroyed everything, those Shinra bastards...!"

Cloud looked round. They were in the Sector Six playground, or what was left of it from the intensity of the blast. The gate to Sector Seven stood not far off, but it had been flattened completely by the plate. They were lucky. They'd just escaped certain death. Wearily, he walked toward the other two.

"No Barret - it's over. The plate's fallen. We can't get it back. It's all gone."

Barret turned on him, the veins in his forehead swollen with rage.

"Yeah, damn bloody right, it's all gone! _They've_ all gone! The slum people...Biggs...Wedge...Jessie...Marlene! Gone!"

With a cry of bitterness, he turned, aimed his gun anywhere, let fire. Cloud closed his eyes and listened to the staccato rhythm of the gunshots. His mind seemed to throb with each shot, as if he too had been struck and felt Barret's pain. When the sound could no longer be heard, Cloud opened his eyes. Barret was trying to hold back tears, and Tifa had a hand on his shoulder.

"Cloud," he was saying, pleading, "What's it all for? What the hell does all this shit mean?"

Cloud did not attempt to answer. He didn't know either. Tifa spoke suddenly, quietly.

"Barret, Marlene's not dead."

He stared at her, disbelieving.

"Whaddya mean, 'not dead'?"

Tifa's face was suddenly animated again, her eyes sharp. "She's safe. Didn't you hear Aeris? She said, 'she's safe'. I think she took Marlene back to her home or something."

Hope filled Barret's roughened face.

"You mean...that girl...she saved Marlene?"

Tifa nodded silently.

"Oh my God..." Barret could hardly speak for his relief. "...Marlene...alive...!"

Tifa turned to Cloud. "Do you know the way back to Aeris' house?"

Cloud said nothing. There was something puzzling him, something that had been nagging at the back of his mind ever since he'd met Aeris. And now, he thought he finally knew what it was.

"Yeah, I do," he answeredafter a moment."But there's something else bugging me."

Tifa was confused.

"What's that?"

Cloud turned away, rubbed the back of his neck. It stung and he felt the warmth of blood. He ignored it.

"That guy...Tseng. He called Aeris an Ancient. Didn't you hear him?"

"Ancient?" Barret repeated slowly, crossing his arms. "I've heard stories 'bout them people before. Did you say that girl was an Ancient?"

"Well, the Shinra appear to think so." Cloud paused. "I've heard about the Ancients too, I'm sure of it. They're a race of people who lived thousands of years ago."

"Where did you hear this?" Tifa asked. Cloud hesitated. He couldn't say exactly _where_ he'd heard it from. That was part of the whole problem.

"It doesn't matter," he finally said.

"So I take it you're going to rescue her then," Tifa interjected.

Cloud nodded. "There's some stuff I have to ask her. You coming Barret?"

"Sure." The big man looked adamant. "That Aeris saved Marlene. If I owe anyone anything, it's her!"

* * *

Their first priority was to see if Marlene was alive and well. They began to make their way through the Sector Six junkyard and toward Aeris' house. The people of the Sector Five slums seemed to be shaken by the falling of the plate. The Shinra had already sent news bulletins across Midgar, and the locals were out in the streets, shouting some nonsense about AVALANCHE being responsible. It was most likely that they had never seen or even knew what AVALANCHE was, which was lucky for Cloud, Tifa and Barret. They had pushed through the rioting crowds with their elbows, making for the direction of Aeris' house. Cloud knocked on the door briskly. 

Elmyra opened it, a fearful look on her face that changed to anxiety as she recognised Cloud.

"Cloud, you're here!" She pushed open the door for him to enter. "Aeris told me you might return. You'd better come inside."

Cloud walked in, Tifa and Barret following. Elmyra shut the door quietly after scanning the area for any signs of the Shinra, and turned to face them apprehensively.

"They took her. I tried to stop them, but this time..." She broke off, too drained even to cry. Finally, she took in a deep breath and started again. "Those men from the Turks came again. They made all kinds of threats. Things about the Sector Seven plate...about killing the little girl Aeris had brought with her...All this just to stop Aeris from refusing to go with them. She let them take her. She wouldn't want to put the girl's life in danger."

Barret had a mixture of total relief and guilt on his face.

"You mean...your daughter risked her life for my Marlene?"

Elmyra stared at him in shock.

"You're her father? What were you doing, leaving her in danger like that? You should be ashamed of yourself!"

Barret hung his head. Cloud was surprised to see such remorse on his face.

"I know, I know," he began in an abashed tone of voice. "I'm stupid, irresponsible and selfish. I don't give a damn about Marlene, otherwise I wouldn't have left her in that damned, god-forsaken slum." He looked up suddenly, his eyes full of emotion. "But what you've gotta understand is that what I'm doin' now is for Marlene's sake, an' no one else's. I've gotta save the Planet, I've gotta fight, fight for Marlene's future, otherwise she won't have one!"

Elmyra was moved at his words. "I understand," she said softly, her eyes on his.

Barret shook his head regretfully.

"Aeris must really hate me for leavin' Marlene, even if she don't know me yet."

Elmyra shook her head passionately.

"No, Aeris would never think that, not about anyone."

"Elmyra," Cloud intervened, "there's something I need to know about Aeris. That man, Tseng, said that she was an Ancient. That means that you must be an Ancient too. Is it true?"

Elmyra looked at Cloud in surprise. Slowly she slumped into a chair, a dazed expression on her face.

"Oh no," she exhaled. "I'm not her mother. Not her _real_ mother, anyway."

"You're not?"

Elmyra shook her head as she answered him.

"No. It's a long story." She laughed weakly."Too long really to tell."

"Does Aeris know?" Tifa ventured, uncertainly.

"Of course Aeris knows!" Elmyra looked agitated for a moment or two, then her face fell. "Even if I told her I was her real mother, even if I lied, she'd always know the truth."

"I don't understand," Cloud replied. "What do you mean?"

Elmyra closed her eyes for a second; then, when she opened them, they held a misty, clouded quality, as though peering deep into the past.

"I suppose it won't hurt to tell you," she finally said. "It was such a long time ago; Aeris was only a very small child."

Cloud sat on the nearest chair, held the women's eyes.

"Go on," he said.

-oOo-

* * *

It was seventeen years ago, during the Great War. My husband had been fighting in a far-away place called Wutai. That year he had been given leave from the army, and I was to meet him at the Sector Seven train station at the appointed time. 

I was so excited as the train came in. For the first time in so many years, I saw happy faces at the railway station. Wives and husbands, lovers, friends, all reunited at last. After all the years of pain, there was real love and joy on their faces, looks I thought I'd never see again. And yet, as their hearts' desires were fulfilled and satisfied, mine never even came. My husband was not on the train. He did not return that day.

For weeks, months I waited for him. Maybe it was longer, I don't know. Time always seems to pass deceitfully when waiting. And then, one day, when I had gone to the station on a dull, winter evening, I saw something different.

A woman was lying at the end of the platform. She looked as if she were hurt, so I made my way toward her. I bent over her. She was a beautiful looking woman - so distinguished, with lovely long wavy hair and a statuesque figure. She was dying - from exhaustion, I guessed. Her feet were bare and her clothes were in tatters. As I tried to help her up, she began to come round. She spoke to me in a dry, cracked, yet eloquent voice.

"Are we safe? Is my daughter safe?"

Up until that moment, I had not seen the girl beside her at all. She had been sitting by her mother's body, covered by a bundle of rags. Her eyes were wet -she had been crying silently. She was so little, so pretty, with bright green eyes, big, like her mother's. It sounds strange, but it was as though those eyes were speaking to me. I held the woman's cold hand.

"Yes," I replied. "You're safe."

The woman closed her eyes, did not open them again.

"Please...take care of Aeris for me."

So I took care of her.

I think perhaps I was lonely. I had no one, my husband had not come back, and this girl had literally been pushed my way.

She was a wonderful child, so bright and cheerful. And she loved to talk. She would tell me of many things, especially of her mother. She would tell me how her mother was not dead, how she had gone back to the Planet, how she still talked to her, how she'd never be alone...At the time, I didn't know what she meant. But then, a few years after, she told me something new.

One morning she came downstairs, this time looking more pensive.

"Mother, please don't cry, but someone very dear to you has just died."

She comforted me, but I did not see any reason why she should. I did not understand her. And then, I did. A few days later, I received a telegram.

My husband was dead.

Soon after this, strange men started to come to our house. They wanted to take Aeris away. They called themselves the Turks and they worked for the Shinra. One man always came back. His name was Tseng.

"Aeris," he would always tell her, "you must come with us. You must help the Shinra to find the Promised Land."

"No!" She would always refuse.

"Don't you want to help the slum people find happiness?" Tseng still persisted. "Aeris, you are an Ancient. You alone can bring peace to this world. Don't you hear your mother and ancestors speaking to you? Aren't you aware of powers they've given you?"

Aeris was angry.

"No! I'm not an Ancient and I don't have special powers!"

But I knew. I knew she was different, and I knew of her special powers, though I pretended I never did.

-oOo-

* * *

"I see." Cloud rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought. "So Aeris is an Ancient. I should have known." 

Elmyra looked at him with sad, wearied eyes.

"Aeris knows what she is. I can't help thinking that maybe she went with the Shinra with some other ulterior motive."

Cloud sat quite still and pondered. Barret cut into the quiet.

"Do you think I could see Marlene?" he asked, meekly. Elmyra nodded weakly.

"She's upstairs."

Barret hurried up the stairs faster than thought. Cloud stood up and paced the room gravely, Tifa and Elmyra following him attentively with their eyes. At length, he stopped and turned to face them.

"Elmyra, I think you're right. Aeris had other reasons for collaborating with the Shinra. Perhaps she went to find out more about her past and the Ancients." He paused. "Still, we have to get her back. I wouldn't trust the Shinra as far as I could kick them."

Elmyra pulled herself up from the chair, and there was asad gleam in her eyes as she stared at Cloud.

"You won't bring Aeris back. Shall I tell you why? Because she doesn't belong here. She's not mine. I guarantee you that she'll want to find out her true past, her true purpose, whatever they may be."

Cloud and Tifa remained silent. The older woman continued softly.

"Please, when you find her, take care of her. And when she leaves to seek the truth, tell her..." she halted, thought better of it, and gave a resigned smile. "No. It doesn't matter. Just look after her for me."

Cloud nodded firmly. "Of course." He turned to Tifa. "We'd better get going."

She passed him an uplifting smile.

"Okay, Cloud. What about Barret?"

"I guess I'm going to have to tear him away from Marlene, much as I hate the thought." Cloud grinned. "At least there's _something_ in this world that Barret truly cares about."

He climbed the stairs on to the landing. He found Barret and Marlene in the spare bedroom, talking together in glad, joyful voices. It almost pained him to split them apart.

"Barret," he ventured quietly, "we have to get Aeris back now. Sorry."

Barret stood up good-naturedly and placed Marlene back lovingly on to the bed.

"Right! As I say, I owe that girl one, and I'd do anything for her!" He patted Marlene on the head. "You take care of yourself, Marlene."

"I love you, daddy," she replied, placing a wet kiss on his cheek. He grinned in embarrassment.

"Me too, girl."

After a last affectionate glance at his daughter, he hurried out of the room, leaving Cloud in the doorway.Cloud watched Barret run down the stairs and scratched his head as he turned back to Marlene.

"Don't you ever worry about your dad?" he asked, quite seriously. Marlene laughed.

"You're funny," she remarked, through her giggles, forgetting her previous fear of him. Then she stopped suddenly, and her eyes sparkled. "Hey! You know the flower lady? She kept on and on asking me questions about you, Cloud!"

Cloud sat down on the bed next to the girl.

"Did she?" he asked, a hint of discomfit filling his voice as he said it. Marlene nodded vigorously, her expression one of resolute seriousness.

"Yes, she did. She kept on asking 'What kind of a person is Cloud?' and 'What sort of things does Cloud like?'" Her eyes widened, so that they appeared to resemble two large, chocolaty saucers. "I bet she likes you, Cloud!"

"Let's hope so," he replied, half-jokingly.

Marlene found the remark intensely humorous. She began to chuckle again.

"Don't worry, I won't tell Tifa!"

Cloud passed her a half-smile, not sure whether his witty little remark had been taken the right way or not. He gave Marlene a half-hearted pat on the head, thinking once again of how much she seemed to resemble Aeris in some vague, indistinct way. He stood up.

"I've got to go now, Marlene. Goodbye."

She beamed up at him with glittering eyes.

"Goodbye!"

Cloud hurried down the stairs. Tifa and Barret were ready and waiting for him.

"Well, I guess it's time to go."

"Where are we headed?" Barret asked keenly.

"The Shinra Headquarters, of course," Cloud answered. He opened the door and nodded in Elmyra's direction. "Thank you again, Mrs. Gainsborough."

She stopped him before he could make his exit.

"Cloud. Let me give you some advice. Getting to Shinra Headquarters won't be easy. Go to Wall Market. The people there will be able to help you."

Once again, the three set off, a new purpose to their journey.

* * *

There was still the general anarchy going on over the falling of the plate outside. In Wall Market, the excitement was even more felt. It seemed that parts of the plate had crashed down into the market, and some stall-owners had been scavenging through the piles of rubble hoping for the chance of finding any valuables. 

"How are we going to get to the Shinra Headquarters?" Tifa asked, as they wandered through the chaos of the milling crowds. "Everyone knows it's impossible to get up there, unless by helicopter or through Sector Eight's security systems. There's no way of getting up to the top, Cloud."

Cloud frowned. He'd been trying to work out an answer to this problem for quite some time now, to no avail.

"Elmyra said we'd get help here," he said, thoughtfully. "I suppose we'll just have to ask around."

At that moment, a gang of children came barging past their small group.

"Damn kids!" Barret scowled. "Got no respect in the slums. Now, in my day..."

"Barret!" Tifa glared at him ironically. "You're not seriously going to tell us about _your_ childhood! We learnt about all that stuff in History, at school!"

Barret puffed out his chest, offended.

"I didn't know you went to school, Tifa," he hit back, hotly. "School's only for rich kids!"

At this point, a young boy came crashing into Barret at top speed. Barret, being in the least tolerant of tempers, grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and stared him aggressively in the eye.

"Hey, what's your game, comin' and rushin' into me like that? Is there a fire or somethin'?" he growled fiercely.

The boy stared up at him with terror in his eyes. It was strange how Barret could seem extravagantly bountiful in his affections one minute, and then become a bastard the next. The youngster began to speak in a quivering voice.

"I'm sorry sir, but I gotta hurry. My friends and I are havin' a meetin' at the wire and..."

"Wire!" Barret snarled at him. "What're you talkin' about? You're havin' me on, aren't you."

"Barret!" Tifa scolded him. "Stop frightening the boy! Put him down!"

Muttering angrily, Barret placed the boy back down on the ground. Before he could scamper off, Cloud spoke to him.

"Just out of curiosity, you just mentioned a wire. What do you mean by that?"

The boy was still obviously terrified, especially since he'd caught sight of the sword on Cloud's back. He hesitated and Tifa spoke to him gently.

"We're not going to hurt you. We just need help, that's all."

There was still doubt on the boy's face, but he spoke anyway.

"I wasn't lying about the wire. My friends and I are trying to get to the top of the Sector Six wall. You can sit on it and see for miles. The view is great."

Cloud bent over toward the lad in enthusiasm.

"And do you think you could use itclimb to the top of the Shinra building?"

The boy's eyes began to twinkle.

"Hey mister, if you want to go up the wire, I could show it to you right now."

Cloud gave the thumbs up sign to the others.

"Let's go, kid."

* * *

The boy obligingly led them to the outskirts of Wall Market. The wall of Sector Six lay there. On its surface were numerous signs of graffiti, and, misprinted in big, red letters had been sprayed the word: AVARIS. Right beside the wall was an immense, thick wire. The boy pointed upward. 

"It's attached to the plate, so its quite safe," he assured them."If you go up high enough, it's possible to get to the Shinra building."

Cloud gazed up the line. Shinra Headquarters, a massive, towering skyscraper, situated in the centre of Midgar, assumed the likeness of a remote and forbidden castle. Tifa addressed him dubiously.

"Cloud? Are we really going to go up that?"

Cloud reluctantly stood back.

"Hmmm. I don't know. It's kind of risky."

"Hey, no pain, no gain!" Barret put in cheerfully. "Lissen, do you know what this wire is? It's a shiny, golden wire of hope. And if we don't climb it, we don't get nothin'!"

"Nice bit of poetry there, Barret," Tifa commented in mock approval.

Cloud decided not to think too much about the pros and cons of the matter. Barret was right. Holding back would get them nowhere.

"Okay," he resolved, quickly. "We're climbing up."

"That's the spirit!" Barret slapped him on the back. The boy grinned.

"Good luck." He paused. "Wow, wait 'til I tell my mates 'bout this!"

"Hey, Cloud?" Tifa piped up sheepishly. "I'm kind of scared of heights...and I was wondering if you'd give me a ride on your back..."

Cloud laughed and held his hand out to hers.

"Come on, then, baby. Cloud will give you a piggy-back up to the top."

* * *

They began to climb the wire. Barret had no trouble in doing this, but Cloud, having Tifa's weight on his back, soon found the journey tiring. After several minutes of heaving and clinging, they finally got the top of the wall, and stopped to take a rest. 

"Wow!" Tifa exclaimed, as they stood on the wall, looking out into the distance "What a view!"

It certainly was a view. To the right, Sector Five and its slums could be seen, tiny white, yellow and pink lights dotting the dwarfish shops and houses. To the far corner, Sector Eight could vaguely be made out. The richest Sector, its tall buildings with ornate minarets adorned the black horizon, where plate met earth. To the left were the smoking remains of Sector Seven, all ashy grey and inky black. And right in the middle of it all, beside them, was the Shinra Headquarters, their intended destination.

They travelled on a little further, until they got to the entrance of the building. A steel platform jutted out toward the line, attached to the actual tower itself, which was accessible by a large flight of stairs. To the right was a heli-pad; in front was the main entrance; to the left was the back entrance. An array of red lanterns glowed to provide light, and to create a frightening, yet impressive atmosphere to intruders.

As they stood outside taking all this in, Barret looked round at them comically.

"Well guys, there's sixty-nine hard-rockin' floors to this building. We've got two choices - bust on in through the main entrance - or climbing sixty-nine flights of stairs through the back entrance. Take your pick."

Tifa pulled a wry face.

"I don't know which one's worse!"

Barret turned to Cloud.

"Well?"

Cloud shrugged. There wasn't much to choose between them, but he supposed they should save their energy for fighting, rather than on the stairs.

"Let's bust on in." he finally replied.

Barret slapped him on the back.

"You know Cloud, you really are a man after my own heart. I apologise to you."

They walked to the main entrance, looked at each other in expectancy.

"Just don't die on me, okay, guys?" Cloud joked. Tifa passed him a wry glance.

"Let's just get this over and done with, okay?"

They opened the doors together, and, in perfect unison, they walked inside.

-oOo-

* * *

_Next: Aeris is rescued and there's another new and unlikely addition to the team..._


	7. PART 1 Red XIII

**A/N:** **Kokorohikaru - **Yeah, I can look it up for you. I never typed up the Wall Market scene though, so bear with me while I get it typed up... ;p

-oOo-**

* * *

**

**: Chapter Six : Red XIII**

"GET DOWN ON THE GROUND!"

Barret's words rung out into the great hallway, instilling instant fear and obedience into the hearts of the surrounding Shinra employees. Catching sight of his threatening gun, each person in the room threw themselves down to the floor. Barret wandered around the still bodies, squinting his eyes for any false movements.

"Right. We want safe passage through this floor, so we don't want no trouble from none of you, okay?" He motioned to Cloud with a wave of his hand. "Cloud? What you gonna do with 'em?"

Cloud threaded his way through the people. They were as immutable as the dead. He stopped. His eye caught out a man. He'd been shaking amongst the others, obviously scared out of his wits. _A hostage... _Cloud bent over and lifted him up by the scruff of his neck. The man began to whimper, his eyes wide with fear.

"You can't do this...The President will get you...!"

"Shut up!" Cloud shook himfiercely. "You're getting us up to the 60th floor. You wouldn't want my friend here topump your guts full of lead,would you?"

The man shook his head, his eyes watering.

"N...No!"

Cloud shook him again.

"Okay! You're getting us through!"

"B...but..." the man's voice was shot through with terror, "...I can't do that...only top Shinra personnel can get to 60th floor and over! You need a keycard..."

"You're gettingus one then!"

Cloud practically dragged the man over to the nearest lift and punched in the buttons. The door slid open smoothly, and fortunately, no one was in it. Cloud stepped inside, followed by Tifa, then Barret taking up the rear. He pressed the sensor for the 60th floor. A small screen lit up.

"Cloud, a keycard is required," Tifa read from the screen. Cloud turned to the man, who'd been hunching himself up in the corner of the lift fearfully.

"We'll borrow his."

The man hesitated, but thought better of it as he saw Barret glaring at him out of the corner of his eye. Searching in his pocket hastily, he produced a small, green swipe-card.

"J-just don't manhandle it, okay?" he dared to ask. "It took me a lot of trouble to secure the false ID."

"Don't worry," Cloud replied dryly, putting the card through a scanner, "we'll be taking good care of it."

The lift began to shift upward.

After a few seconds of silence, the man began to speak, screwing up his courage and taking hold of it.

"I know you," he stammered, "you're from AVALANCHE! I saw you on TV earlier on, you blew Sector Seven's plate!"

Barret's temper flared at the remark.

"Shut up, Shinra pig, otherwise I'll shoot yah!"

The man began to get a little more confident.

"You can't get away with this! It's impossible! You won't get out of here alive! They'll execute you, they'll send you to the gas chamber, they'll...!"

Tifa, losing patience, slammed her fist into the wall by his face.

"Just keep quiet, will you? You're doing my head in."

The man said nothing after that, but he sulked in the corner of the lift, until the bell that signalled the end of their destination sounded. The door skimmed open.

"At last," Barret breathed.

"Cloud what are you going to do about...?" Tifa nodded toward the scowling man. Cloud stared at him warily, making him squirm uncomfortably.

"I guess we gotta send him back down to the ground floor." He grinned. "It'd take an age for him to get down, so we should be far, far away by then. Besides, those people downstairs have probably alerted the guards already."

"Yeah," Barret said, scoring the area for the enemy. "Security will be on to us in a minute. We'd better be on our guard."

Cloud efficiently produced a length of rope from his belt. He looked apologetically at the man as he twined the cord round his wrists behind his back.

"Sorry about this, but we've got a job to do."

"So I gathered," the man mumbled dolefully under his breath. After sending him back down to the ground floor, Cloud turned to the others.

"Right, so how do wefind outwhich floor Aeris is on?"

Barret shrugged.

"Obviously,she's nowherebelow this one. If they're really interrogating her, it'll be on a high security floor." He shrugged his hefty shoulders again. "Which one is a mystery to me."

Atthat moment, a door opened at the far end of the hallway. A man and woman, both dressed in the dark navy of Shinra personnel, walked out, deep in conversation. They didn't appear to notice Cloud and the others standing in front of the lifts, and walked right past, toward a flight of stairs.

"Shall we follow them?" Tifa began. "They might lead us to where we're looking for."

"Might as well," Cloud agreed, and they began to trail the two, keeping a safe distance. The couple climbed the first flight, then went on to the second. At the next landing, they stopped, swiped their keycards into the scanner and walked through the parting doors. Cloud rushed forward behind them. When he was sure no one was lurking about, he motioned to the others.

"It's the 62nd floor," he informed them as they approached. Turning, he put the fake card through the scanner. It was accepted, and the automatic door opened.

"Do you think Aeris is here?" Barret asked doubtfully.

"Who knows?" Cloud replied. He looked round vigilantly, and spotted a group of people approaching. Startled at the sudden appearance, he waved a hand to Tifa and Barret.

"Hide!" he hissed. Obediently, the two hustled themselves round a corner. Cloud hid behind a strategically placed pot of yucca plants. Looking through the leaves, he could quite easily see the people walk down the corridor. There were three men and a woman in the company, though Cloud could not quite make out their features properly. As they neared him, he crushed himself back against the wall, hardly daring to breathe. They were so close, he could hear their voices.

"...this meeting's gonna be a good one!" a thick, stuffy voice sounded, as it's owner lumbered past, "The President's gonna be putting up the price on..."

The voice faded off into the distance, the small party with it. As soon as they were out of sight, Cloud deigned to breathe again. Shaken, he struggled to his feet. Barret and Tifa had disengaged themselves from their hideout.

"Cloud!" Tifa ran to him. "That was close. For a moment there..."

She didn't finish off for fear of even thinking about it. Barret stared after the Shinra's footsteps, a pensive look on his face.

"That sure was a lot of suits back there," he commented. "Wonder where they were goin'?"

"To a meeting," Cloud put in, "With President Shinra." He looked about him cautiously.

"What is it?" Tifa asked. Cloud began to search the corridor.

"I'm just thinking, we could spy on this meeting and get the inside story on the Shinra's plans. Perhaps they'll mention Aeris' whereabouts." He stood up straight. "Are there any air-ducts round here?"

Barret stared at him in horror.

"Uh-uh, no way! I ain't goin' up in one of those things again!"

Cloud smiled apologetically at him and shrugged. Tifa spoke.

"Where's the nearest washroom? There's bound to be an air-duct there."

"Good thinking!" Cloud grinned.

It didn't take long to find a washroom. Directly above the lavatory was an air-duct. Cloud climbed on to the seat and lifted the cover. He peered inside the tunnel. It was obvious that the Shinra kept its headquarters in good shape. Even the air-ducts were clean. After a general inspection, Cloud climbed down.

"It's safe," he assured.

Barret looked doubtful, and, surprisingly, so did Tifa.

"Cloud," she began, " I don't think I can."

"Why not?"

She flushed.

"Well, I'm not exactly built to go wandering into air-ducts..."

Barret gave her a funny glance. "_What_ are you talkin' about?"

"Okay, okay!" Tifa took in a large breath and looked away in embarrassment. "I'm afraid my hips will get caught in the hole. I'm afraid of getting stuck in the entrance, and having my butt sticking out of the..."

"Okay, we get the message, Tifa," Barret interrupted in disgust.

Cloud smirked wickedly at her. "If you do get stuck, I'll push you through. Is that enough of an incentive?"

"I don't know what you mean." Tifa replied, innocently, but she agreed to climb up anyway. The shaft was a tight squeeze, especially for Barret, who seemed justified in his fear of the place. As they crawled along into the tight space, the distinct sound of discoursing voices drifted their way. Cloud strained his head over his shoulder toward the others.

"We must be near the conference room."

They crept on a little longer, until Cloud saw a shaft of light in the tunnel. As he neared the grill the shine was exuding from, he could hear the voices quite clearly. He signalled to the others to gather round. After severalawkward shufflings and hushings, they managed to get into comfortable positions.

"Right," Cloud whispered, "don't say a word. Keep quiet and don't blow our cover."

They peered down through the grill, into the conference room.

President Shinra was seated at the head of a large table. Around him were a group of four people, the same ones that had passed Cloud in the corridor. The room was brilliantly lighted, and various confidential papers had been spread across the highly polished desk. Bodyguards stood each side of the double doors, with hard, expressionless faces.

"Where's Hojo?" President Shinra was demanding in an irate tone of voice that spelt danger. Uncomfortable looks were passed between the Shinra members. The woman, however, seemed quite at ease with the situation. She was examining her gleaming red fingernails with an air of indulgent satisfaction. Out of her deep crimson lips, her raspy, affected voice answered the President's question.

"He's late, as usual. You know these scientists, Mr. President."

President Shinra banged an unwieldy fist on the table. It was evident, at the very least, that he was not in the mood to be trifled with.

"Well, I wish he'd turn up on time for a change. His unpunctuality is beginning to irritate me." He waved impatiently to a bodyguard. "Fetch Hojo immediately."

One of the expressionless men obeyed wordlessly. The President began to calm down somewhat. He gazed round atthe company, who instantly began to pay their full attention.

"Now," the President began in a commanding voice, "I've been waiting for reports on the recent destruction of Sector Seven. I trust you, Heidigger, have the information?"

A large man with a Germanic, bearded, shifty-eyed face looked at his papers.

"Of course, Sir." His voice was flatteringly foolish. "The death toll has been officially put at over 1,000,000, but is obviously more, as recent census results suggest. The cost of the damage is estimated to be approximately 10 billion Gil..."

Another man, lean, lank, with a neat goatee beard and an amiable face, interrupted.

"But that's ludicrous! I can't believe we're wasting all that money just to...!"

President Shinra raised a hand calmly.

"Reeve, let Heidigger continue."

Heidigger, shooting Reeve a nettled glance, turned back to his documents. "As I was saying, the damage will cost approximately 10 billion Gil..." he emphasised the words for Reeve's benefit, "...and recent reports suggest that the anti-AVALANCHE propaganda was successful. The people fully believe that AVALANCHE are to blame." He raised his sly eyes. "Incidentally, Sir, we've just had reports of AVALANCHE being in the building."

The President tapped his fingers on the shiny wood.

"Hmmm, I trust our guards are capable enough to take care of such insolent rabble." He changed the subject quickly, as though the present one displeased him. "Now, Reeve, we'll turn back to your little problem. I have a new proposal that will raise funds toward your Urban Development of Midgar, and toward the Sector Seven damages. We shall raise the Mako prices by 15 percent throughout the Planet."

The last member, an obese, balding, ungainly man, who Cloud recognised as the one who'd been talking outside earlier on, seemed excited by the proposition.

"Rate hike, rate hike!"

President Shinra banged his fist on the table again.

"_Palmer_!"

The fat man sat back in his seat, an injured look on his face, but he said nothing. Reeve spoke up.

"Forgive me, Sir, but raising the price of Mako by 15 percent will destroy the people's confidence in us."

"On the contrary," the President replied, "I think the opposite will be the case. Especially after AVALANCHE's little slip-up!"

They all began to laugh, except for Reeve, who looked disenchanted. The woman suddenly stopped laughing and abruptly stabbed the table with a nail file, making everyone around jump in fright.

"That AVALANCHE scum," she began, her attractive face contorted in a violent contempt. "You don't know how much I want to _smash _them."

She dug the file deep into the table, her knuckles white. Cloud felt a shudder pass through Tifa beside him.

The President looked amused.

"Your time will come, Scarlet, rest assured."

Barret turned to Cloud and spoke in a whisper.

"The woman's a psycopath."

Cloud nodded, and the door in the room was suddenly opened. A dwarfish man with a hunchback, about fifty years of age, walked into the room. He wore a white coat and his long, dark hair had been pulled back into a ponytail. The President addressed him.

"Ah, Hojo, here at last. What progress are you making with the girl?"

Hojo perched his glasses high up on his nose. A sinister look filled his educated features.

"Ah, you mean my newest specimen?" he cackled. "Compared to her mother, she is notably inferior. True, the blood of the Ancients flows in her veins, but it has been considerably 'diluted', so to speak. My last calculation recorded the similarity rate to her mother at approximately 80 per cent."

"How long before we are able to extract her DNA structure?"

"Hmmm." Hojo looked pleased to make his report. "Maybe 200 years or so. It's quite impossible to finish the extraction process in our lifetime. Or the subject's for that matter. DNA extraction, isolation and cultivation is an extremely delicate process, and we can't be sure that the subject's DNA structure is strictly human. I was hoping to breed her," he spoke with an intonation of indifference, "We're keeping her in close confinement in the meantime."

"Well, see to it that you get some proper information out of her," the President ordered, rising. "I want to find the Promised Land, but we need her co-operation."

The others stood in accordance with President Shinra.

"Now," he spoke, "You, Heidigger, will keep tabs on AVALANCHE. Reeve, Scarlet, take care of the Mako business."

Palmer looked at the President meekly.

"Sir, I was wondering...when is my Space Program going to have its funds raised?"

"Palmer," the President gave the air of talking to a child, "you know full well that the Space Program has been put on indefinite hold for the time being." He turned to the others. "Meeting dismissed."

Everyone began to file out. Halfway out, Scarlet turned and looked up, straight toward where Cloud and the others were hiding. In a panic, they lay low quickly.

"You know," Scarlet's voice could be heard clearly from below, "something stinks in here. I bet that air-duct is connected to the washroom. I'll have to complain about that."

The door clicked shut and no more was to be heard. Cloud shifted himself on to his elbows from his flat position. Tifa gave him a perplexed look.

"Was that Aeris they were talking about?"

"Must be," Cloud replied. Barret clenched his fists.

"The more I hear them, the more I hate them!" he cried. "Those evil, lying crooks. They should all be shot!"

"I'll go with that one," Cloud rejoined candidly."Come on, we'd better hurry."

They climbed back out of shaft and out into the corridor. The Shinra had just left the room, and Hojo was limping off down the passageway. Cloud hid behind the wall.

"So that's Hojo," he murmured, intrigued. Barret stared at him.

"You know him, Cloud?"

"No." He shook his head. "This is actually the first time I've seen him. But I heard a lot about him back in SOLDIER." He quickly made up his mind. "Let's follow him. He's bound to be going to where they're keeping Aeris."

They began to tag Hojo warily, but the scientist seemed to be too absorbed in his own thoughts to have noticed them anyway. He climbed another two flights of stairs to the 64th floor. Once again, the floor was a network of airy corridors, but with steel doors with closed portholes. Hojo entered one of these and shut it behind him. The others walked up to the door.

"Should we go in?" Tifa asked. Cloud slid open the porthole quietly. The room was a large one, completely white, with stacks of filing cabinets and shelves lining the walls. Hojo was not in sight.

"I think it's safe," Cloud said, pulling back the shutter. With a cautious hand, he turned the door handle. The door jarred open. On tiptoe, they entered the room. Cloud gazed round him.

"The coast's clear," he whispered, only to be cut off by a sound further up in the room. The three of them each scampered off to a hiding place. Cloud secreted himself behind a crate of chemicals, and watched Hojo's form appear from a side door. Unaware of the intruders, the scientist walked to the centre of the room. A glass dome was situated here and Hojo peered into the transparent case.

Cloud narrowed his eyes to get a better look. Inside the dome was a lion-like creature, but it wasn't a lion at all. It was like no other animal Cloud had ever seen before. It was crimson in colour, with blackened scars and tattoos dotting it's furry body. One eye was missing from its face and from its tail, a tongue of flames was blazing like a raging fire. It's long, vermilion mane flew out of it's back in a shock. Hojo bent over to examine the creature. It seemed to be asleep.

"Hmmm, my precious specimen," the scientist's sharp, raspy voice filled the room, "I have great things planned for you."

At this moment, the side door opened again, and another scientist with a clipboard looked through.

"Dr. Hojo, the experiment is ready to take place."

"Ah." Hojo looked up. "I shall be coming in a moment."

The man disappeared, and Hojo turned back to the lion-like beast.

"I'm counting on you," he said, quietly, then he began to laugh harshly. It was an unpleasant, grating laugh, one thattickled Cloud's ears unpleasantly. He shifted uncomfortably. Something about Hojo uneased him, though he couldn't place it. The door opened again. Hojo had left, still chuckling sadistically to himself.

Cloud stood up, and Barret and Tifa walked out from their hiding places. Barret jabbed a finger at his temple.

"Another mad one," he commented comically.

Tifa had walked over to the glass dome. She stared at the animal closely.

"You know, this dog is kind of cute. Or is it a lion?" She turned to Cloud. "I bet he's one of the Shinra's mutated experiments."

Cloud shrugged.

"I wouldn't be surprised."

It was then that he noticed a glaring light exuding from one of the isolation chambers nearby. The light seemed strangely familiar. Walking up to it, Cloud peered in through the open porthole. For a moment, he could see nothing, the light was so blinding. Then, what was inside became apparent. Cloud stood rooted, his blood suddenly curdling in fear. A thing, a monster was inside, encased in a fluorescent fluid. It had no head.

Cloud stood back. He could not think straight. There were words in his brain that were jumbling together, memories from the past; fear, terror...

_Oh my God!_ was all he could think. _Oh my God! Jenova..._

He stumbled backward, nearly tripping over his feet. Tifa noticed his actions in alarm.

"Cloud, what's the matter?"

Cloud pointed at he window, his hand trembling wildly. "Look in there," he stammered.

Barret lumbered over, looked into the chamber. He turned back to Cloud, impressed.

"Yeah, it's headless. Another weird mutant, I suppose."

Tifa stared into Cloud's eyes, concern flooding her face.

"Cloud, are you all right?"

Cloud took in two, three deep breaths. Regaining some sense of normality, he nodded his head.

"Yeah, I'm fine...just shocked, that's all." He looked toward the side door Hojo had just left by. "Let's follow Hojo."

Obediently, Tifa and Barret followed Cloud through the door. On the other side was a far larger room. It was empty. To the side was an observation room, and in the centre was another glass dome. This one too, was occupied.

Cloud stepped forward.

"Aeris!"

Aeris was sitting with her back to them, her knees hunched up to her chest, her head resting on her folded arms. She did not see the others enter, nor did she hear Cloud call her. He walked hurriedly up to the glass container, travelling round it so that he was facing her. He pounded on the case.

"Aeris!"

She noticed him this time, her eyes widening in surprise. She stood up and ran to him, her faceshaken, timorous.

"Cloud!" He could just about make out her words. "Get me out, please!"

"Don't worry!" he called back "We'll get you out as soon as possible, Aeris!"

"That won't be necessary."

Cloud whirled round.

Hojo was standing in the doorway of the observation room, an oddly impressive aura to his diminutive presence. He smirked at Cloud and walked forward.

"The lovely Ancient here is completely in my hands. I cannot underestimate her importance to my work." He pressed a button on the tiny remote control in his hand. "While this prevents you from taking her away from me, I would be delighted if you could watch my first experiment on her. It should prove to be most entertaining."

A shaft opened up in the bottom of the dome. Aeris stood back, scared. From the hole in the floor, a creature leapt out. It was the lion-like beast that had been in the adjoining room. As it saw Aeris, it jumped up, growled, its fiery tail lashing from side to side.

Aeris flattened herself desperately against the glass, screamed. Hojo sniggered in glee.

"Enjoy the show!"

The beast arched its back savagely, its golden eye flashing in Aeris' direction. Panic-stricken, she ran back to where Cloud was and banged on the glass with her fists.

"Cloud! Help me!"

Hojo could hardly speak for his excitement over his newest demonstration of his so-called brilliance.

"Oh, this is too much! If this works, then...!"

Cloud shut him up.

"You've got to stop this! What are you trying to do, kill the only person who can assist your twisted plans!"

Hojo glared at him angrily.

"No! You people, you're all the same, you moronic imbeciles! I am merely trying to help them. Both creatures are almost extinct. It is in their interests that I do this. It is a mere game of survival of the fittest!"

"What?" Tifa cried. "By having them fight each other to the death!"

Hojo laughed maniacally.

"See! You're all fools!" He looked back at his two specimens. "If she really is a powerful member of her race, she will use magical power to keep her opponent at bay. And not just any magical power, no! Not the type we get from the infinitely inferior materia; but pure, magical energy!"

The creature looked as if it was going to pounce on Aeris. Cloud turned to Barret desperately.

"Shoot the door down!" he ordered. Barret moved forward to comply, aiming his gun at the doorway. Hojo tried to stop him, to no avail.

"NO! No don't! My precious specimens...!"

Barret, taking no heed of Hojo's pleading, fired several shots at the door with a remarkable aim. It fell off its hinges. The creature, seeing a chance to escape, bounded out and pounced right into Hojo, knocking him flat on to the floor. Aeris ran out thankfully. Cloud grasped her hand.

"Aeris! Are you all right?"

She didn't answer the question.

"Cloud, I knew you'd come back!" She looked over his shoulder "Oh! Hojo!"

Cloud turned round. The lion was attacking the scientist, tearing at his white coat and threatening to go even further. Hojo managed to pull the animal off him.

"How dare you...! Turning on your own master!"

The creature began to roar furiously at Hojo, still seemingly incensed. Hojo, however, succeeded in making an escape back into the observational room. The beast attempted to chase him, but realised his efforts would be futile.

"Come back!" it growled in a deep, gruff tone. "Come back and fight me, you coward!"

Barret looked at the animal in shock.

"It can talk!"

The creature seemed to notice the presence of the others for the first time. He turned, and seemed more pacified.

"Of course. And by the way, please accept my apology, young lady." He looked at Aeris. "I wouldn't have hurt you. I had to make it seem like I was playing along with Hojo's game."

Cloud noticed that the talking specimen had an intelligent glow to his eye. Without the fury fuelling his features, there was a sort of untamed perspicacity in his face.

"Do you have a name?"

The creature stared at him out of his single eye, cold and aloof.

"Name? I believe Hojo gave me a label 'Red XIII', a name that has no meaning whatsoever to me."

"Red XIII, do you know the way out of here?"

The crimson animal waved its tail from side to side nimbly.

"No," he replied, his voice firm and eloquent. "But I would be more than willing to help you find out."

"That's sorted then!" Cloud turned to the others. "We're moving out!"

"Cloud," Tifa began, nervously. "I think we've got to find our way to the elevators first. Once we find them, it'll be easy to find our way out."

"You're right." Cloud looked at Aeris. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Aeris nodded with certainty.

"Yup, I couldn't be feeling better." She blushed. "Thanks for coming for me, Cloud."

"No problem." He smiled at her. "We couldn't have that Hojo giving you any trouble."

Barret coughed.

"Sorry to cut off your little chat," he said sarcastically, "but we've got to get out of here."

Cloud nodded.

"Sorry. Let's find the lifts then."

The group, with its new addition of Red XIII, ran out of the laboratory and out into the corridor. Owing to the fact that all the passageways looked the same, it was difficult to place exactly where they were. Nevertheless, it was not long at all before they found the elevator entrances. Cloud pressed at the down button. He turned to the others.

"This may be difficult," he remarked casually, "but try to look inconspicuous. We don't want to get caught again unless we can help it."

With the sound of the elevator bell, the doors swung open. They bundled inside the lift.

"Everyone in?" Cloud asked. The other four nodded briskly, eager to get out. The doors closed shut.

"Okay." Cloud put out his hand to press the downward sensor. "We're going down."

The doors unexpectedly opened again, to everyone's trepidation.

In the doorway stood a lofty, imposing, black man in shades, well over six foot in size. He wore the navy blue and red of the Turks uniform.

"Oh no," he spoke in a terse, succinct tone, his face blank behind the shades, "You're going up."

"Shi-t," Barret breathed. "You guys just don't give up, do you."

Another man entered the lift from behind the other. It was Tseng.

"Do you think the Turks would give up so easily?" he spoke seriously. "You underestimate us, my friend. We are more than dedicated to our work." He turned to the tight-lipped man next to him. "Well done, Rude. You got there just in time."

Rude conceded a nod, but little else. Tseng smiled, maybe at his colleague's graveness, or maybe because of his latest catch. His eyes roved the faces of his prisoners, and he stopped when he got to Aeris.

"Ah, Miss. Aeris, we meet again." His voice was unusually soft. "And what are you doing with this common rebel group, hmm? You weren't thinking of leaving me, were you?"

Aeris said nothing and lowered her eyelids to the floor. Seeing he would get no response from her, Tseng gestured to Rude.

"Let's finish this."

Turning round, Rude swiped his keycard through the sensor.

"Going up," he repeated coldly.

-oOo-

* * *

_Next: President Shinra reveals the company's true intentions..._


	8. PART 1 Incarcerated

**: Chapter Seven : Incarcerated**

When they reached the 69th floor, Aeris was separated from the rest of the group.

"We can't have you mixing with these ruffians now, can we," Tseng told her smoothly, though not unkindly. Leading her away by the arm, Tseng left Rude to deal with the others. Aeris passed Cloud a helpless look over her shoulder as she turned a corner into a long, balmy-looking corridor, lit by pink lights. He stared back at her, trying to send her a silent message of assurance with his eyes, before she was lead round the wall and out of sight.

Cloud turned back. Rude was at the head of their group, ushering them through a lengthy, menacing passageway. The buzz of the Mako-fuelled lights was the only sound to be heard, along with the thudding of their feet against the rich, dove-blue carpet. Lining the shiny, marble walls stood rows of Shinra guards, their faces hidden behind their dark glasses and flesh-coloured masks. Cloud held his breath and found that he could not expel it. Even the members of the Shinra had been de-humanised, even the President's most loyal servants. Cloud wondered, falteringly, whether the very soldiers he was passing now had a conscience like he had. It chilled him to think that people as cold-blooded and ruthless as these existed. He had been one of the lucky ones who'd escaped.

At the end of the long, callous corridor were colossal, highly burnished oak double-doors. They stopped in front of it and Rude opened the entrance with acasual flourish.

"Go inside," he ordered, in a flat, unwavering voice.

"Where are we, ya swine?" Barret, who didn't like being pushed around, demanded."Where are you takin' us?"

Rude made no reply, remaining as emotionless as ever. "Go inside," he repeated in exactly the same tone of voice as before.

Having no other choice but to enter, they stepped inside.

The room they entered was enormous. Decorated in a plain metallic grey, it nevertheless had an awe-inspiring effect. A crystal chandelier hung from the high, airy ceiling, yet it gave out no light. Pink, turquoise and ivory-yellow lamps produced a misty, eerie glow from their places on the three glittering metal walls. The whirr of fans sent a cool, clean draught of air Cloud's way. He had not tasted air so pure in such a long time, and it gave an odd, tingling sensation to his nostrils.

As they were pushed further into the luxurious, spacious room, more aspects of it became apparent. The furthest wall was not a wall at all, but a huge, glistening window, looking out onto the black void that was Midgar. A balcony stretched out beyond this. Although the window emitted no light, it seemed to make the room appear larger, more capacious.

"Ah," a distinct, dangerously soft voice spoke, "you have brought the intruders."

President Shinra was sitting at a desk in the middle of the room. It had been raised on a podium, and shone like a glass and chrome throne in the lights. The man's round, contemptuous face studied the captives leisurely, hostile, sinister.

"I must say I am surprised to meet you people again," he sneered, disdain on his face. Barret shouted at him, his stupefaction at the grandeur of the room failing to keep hold of him.

"We didn't come here to see your ugly mug, you bastard! It was them who brought us in." He threw an accusing hand toward Rude and some other guards, who didn't flinch in the least. The President narrowed his eyes.

"You are beginning to bore me," he shot at Barret coldly. "But, never fear - I shall soon be rid of you irritating upstarts."

"Oh, and what are you going to do?" Barret cried sarcastically. "Burn me at the stake or somethin'?"

"I might." The President fingered a gilt pen with his stubby fingers lazily, twirled it round. "And while we're on the subject, I think it would be in the public's interest to have you executed, no?" He smirked callously at Barret. "Especially after your little escapade concerning the Sector Seven plate."

Barret burst in rage.

"You bastard! How dare you suggest...!"

"Silence!" The President's voice instilled immediate quiet. He stood up and glared round at them. "You are all traitors to the glorious name of the Shinra! Do you expect me to let you go with your treacherous deeds!"

There was a dead silence. President Shinra rearranged his tie with an ungraceful movement of his hand and sat back down. When he looked up again, his gaze was more controlled.

"You cannot hope to overcome the Shinra's supremacy. Do you know how we control the world? Through the sales of Mako, and their profits. The people are ignorant. They fight to get to the top, they squabble and murder and kill to get a hand into the Mako industry. They know no better - and at the end of the day, it is _we_ who profit from their stupidity.

"As long as there are people like this in the world, the Shinra shall remain in dominance. But it is not enough. We need to secure our position as leaders of the world. There must be some way ofrealising our ultimate ambition."

"And at last it can be done," Cloud chimed in, in a low voice. The President looked at him closely, a spark of interest in his eyes.

"Oh? And how may that be, young man?"

Cloud looked up defiantly.

"It's something to do with Aeris, isn't it," he replied, in loud, clear tones. "She's the last Ancient, and with her co-operation you can find a power that no one in this world could ever dream of."

President Shinra stood up again and began to walk toward the window. For a moment he gazed out into the blackness of the dilapidated Sectors -his kingdom.

"Are you acquainted with the story of the Ancients? With their purpose in life?" he finally inquired, his tone soft. Cloud shrugged evasively and waited for him to continue. The President turned again, his stocky presence suddenly seeming more imposing. "The story is far too long and complicated to tell at this moment in time. But most of it is of no consequence to me." He leaned on the table with his hands, his eyes narrowing. "What interests me is the fact that the Ancients are reputed to have knowledge of a land of supreme happiness. From what our sources tell us, this land is rich in Mako."

"The Promised Land," Cloud finished.

"Yes," the President looked amused. "Once we find the Promised Land, our supply of Mako will be limitless. We shall be able to completely control the flow of Mako that will pass through the world." He grinned evilly. "We may even use it to set up colonies in space."

Cloud watched the older man lift himself straight with self-satisfaction. Again, the President spoke.

"With Miss. Aeris' co-operation, all this and more will become possible."

Red XIII stepped forward.

"If the girl is truly an Ancient," he began in his rough, wizened voice, "I fear she will not aid such avaricious schemes. I do not believe that the Promised Land can be found simply by extracting information of its whereabouts from her. Consider - maybe it is not possible to find the Promised Land, unless you are an Ancient."

"Nevertheless," replied President Shinra briskly, "she will lead us to where we want. We have our ways."

"And what are they?" Tifa spoke up for the first time, her voice brazen.

The other sat back down in his seat heavily.

"I'm sure my Head Council will think of something. They are extremely capable at those kind of things. Now..." he slouched back into his plush leather chair, "...I think that this has been enough of a hearing for you." He clicked his fingers and the guards moved forward. "You will be put into prison for the night, and then tomorrow we'll decide what is to be done with you. Most likely, you'll be publicly executed."

"What!" Barret yelled in fury. "Executed!" He began to run up to the President's desk, but Rude moved forward silently and stealthily,grabbing him roughly. Against the giant's strength, even Barret was overwhelmed. Still, he refused to stop shouting.

"I'm gonna getcha, you bastard! You'll pay for this, I swear it!"

President Shinra dismissed the threats with a flourish of his hand.

"You will be executed," he declared out loud, and with that, Cloud felt himself being grabbed painfully about the wrists and being shoved and kicked out of the room.

* * *

Cloud leaned his back against the wall. It was cold in the dank, musty cell and he hunched his knees to his chest in a futile attempt to warm himself. Resting his arms on to his legs, he lowered his head. What was to happen to them now? Would the Shinra execute them? The answer to that was a probable yes. Cloud remembered hearing from his SOLDIER days about the new head of the Weapons Development Department, a woman named Scarlet. Today was the first day he'd actually seen her. He vaguely recalled rumours of Shinra traitors that had been publicly executed by her orders, and that she was something of a sadist. He shivered. It said a lot about the Shinra, when there were people like Scarlet working in it. Back in the old days, Scarlet had been the daughter of the President's closest friend. He remembered what his mother had once said: she used to be a cute little girl with pigtails. Now look at her. 

Tifa was different though, Cloud decided.

She was lying on the cell's only bed, her arms pillowing her head, her eyes focused on the ceiling above.

"Do you think they'll really execute us?" he asked her, trying not to sound like he cared. She didn't look at him.

"I hope not. Not that I'm afraid or anything. It's just that there are things I need to...tie up."

"Such as?"

She turned to face him.

"There are still things that I need to...talk to you about, Cloud."

He was puzzled.

"What things?"

She looked up at the ceiling again in sudden frustration.

"Not now," she muttered, almost as if to herself. "I still need a little more time, Cloud..."

He shook his head in bewilderment. What the hell did she mean, 'not now'? Why did she need 'a little more time'? For what? And how much time did they have left? He was mystified. He was just about to question her, when he heard a sudden, sharp knock sounding from the hollow wall he was leaning on.

"What's that?" he asked Tifa in a whisper.

She shrugged. "Don't know."

"Do you think its Barret and Red XIII trying to communicate?"

"Probably." Tifa looked uninterested in the subject. Cloud sat back and was immediately jolted by another knock. He shot a glance in Tifa's direction, and saw that she was trying to sleep. Turning round to examine the wall, he found that it was quite hollow. Taking a penknife from his belt, he began to drill a small hole through the flimsy material. It seemed that this cell had been part of one larger one. This sub-standard wall had been put in to create more cells for more prisoners. Another of the Shinra's examples of their obsession with money, Cloud thought, as he finally managed to pierce a hole right through the wall. He peered through it, but couldn't see very much.

"Barret? Red XIII?" he called softly. "Are you there?"

There was silence for a minute, then a green eye materialised at the other end of the cavity.

"Cloud!"

He was astonished.

"Aeris! I thought they were putting you into a safe place!"

"This is a safe place, isn't it?" she replied. He shrugged, even though he knew she couldn't see the action.

"I guess so..."

Her voice was light and cheerful, as always.

"I thought you might be here. I heard the Shinra soldiers throw you in."

"Yeah, the bastards," Cloud sighed. "Are you all right in there?"

Her eye disappeared from the hole, but he could still hear her voice.

"Of course. Besides, even if it did get really unbearable, I'd still be all right."

"What do you mean?" he asked, removing his eye also. She took a long time to reply.

"The Ancients," she answered simply. Cloud broke off a piece of wall with his thumb, but he still couldn't see much.

"The Ancients? You mean the thought of them comforts you?"

"No," she answered. "I mean they talk to me. I can hear them."

Cloud said nothing. He remembered Elmyra saying something along the same lines. He sat back.

"So, what's it like, listening to the Ancients?" he questioned.

She was silent for a minute or two.

"What's it like? It's a little hard to explain. It's usually my mother that I can hear. She's the one who speaks to me the most. I used to hear her in the Sector Five church all the time."

"Where are they talking to you from?" he asked, interested in the conversation's topic. "The Promised Land?"

"I don't know. All I know is that, it's a very noisy place. There are so many people talking, it makes it hard to understand what they're saying..."

"Oh."

They were both silent for a while, then Aeris spoke to him again.

"You know, Cloud, I haven't forgotten."

"Haven't forgotten what?"

He could hear her suppress a giggle.

"_You_ know. The date we agreed on."

Before he could reply, Tifa immediately seemed to come to life. She sat up on her bed, a wry look on her face.

"Oh, I get it," she exclaimed, loudly. There was a gasp from Aeris' end.

"Tifa, you're not in there, are you? I didn't know..." she paused. "I'm sorry."

Cloud passed Tifa a look that didn't say anything in particular, but she seemed to relent.

"It's all right, I guess. If I'd just known about it without having to find out like this..."

She sent Cloud a marked look, and he put his hands up in self-defence.

"Hey, it was a deal, okay? I'd be her bodyguard, and in return she'd give me date. She insisted, I couldn't stop her."

Tifa threw herself back on the bed.

"Really, Cloud, you don't need to explain."

"What's that you were saying about me, Cloud?" Aeris' voice suddenly intervened. He banged his head against the wall, sighing loudly. He began to think that this was the beginning of it all; of this delicious disaster that he had felt brewing up between the three of them. He thought it 'delicious' because it was quite a pleasant experience for him to be having this obvious attention from two attractive girls. Nevertheless, it _was_ a disaster, because he couldn't see any of this playful flirtation going anywhere. He answered her question morosely.

"Nothing, nothing at all."

Though the previous thought had caused him some sort of comfort, it was not long before he began to feel the anxiety flood into his body again. It was not a gnawing, nagging anxiety; rather, it was a dejected, desolate one. It was as though he could almost accept his fate for what it would be, that he would be executed as a member of AVALANCHE and be forgotten. And yet there was a dim gleam of hope in the back of his mind, a kind of remote light of solace. He'd escaped death once, twice, so many times, that it seemed almost natural that he should cheat it once again.

Feeling restless with the dread, he began to pace the room heavy-heartedly. Leaning against the wall opposite to Aeris' he suddenly guessed that Barret and Red XIII would be in the next cell on the other side of this wall. Stealthily, he once again began to bore a hole through the brittle partition with his penknife. The plaster began to give way and finally fell to reveal a tiny, inch-sized cavity. Cloud put an eye to it and was surprised to see one on the other side already.

"Jesus Christ!" the unmistakable voice of Barret penetrated through the wall. "It's Cloud, isn't it!"

"Sure is." Cloud replied.

"Yeah, well," Barret's voice was tired, "I'll always recognise you by those Mako eyes of yours."

"Are you and Red XIII okay?" Cloud asked in a whisper.

"Well, you know me, I'll live through anythin'. Don't know 'bout the lion, though."

Red XIII's still astonishingly astute voice snarled from behind Barret.

"I'm not a lion. I happen to come from a very prestigious tribe of warriors." There was a triumphant note of pride in his voice. "Do not underestimate my character simply on the basis of my looks."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, Mr. High-an'-Mighty," Barret muttered, then he turned back to Cloud. "He's been goin' on 'bout his tribe for hours now. It's gettin' borin'."

"Red XIII," Cloud addressed the fiery creature. "How old are you? You sound pretty intelligent for a so-called animal."

"I'm forty-eight years old," Red XIII replied. "But my wisdom is not only due to my years on this earth, but to my heritage too."

"There he goes again," Barret rolled his eyes through the hole. Red XIII continued.

"My grandfather has taught me much about the world."

Barret found humour in the sentence.

"Grandfather!" He began to roar with mirth. "Whassa animal like you doin' with a grandfather!"

Cloud, feeling disinclined to laugh with Barret, moved away from the wall, crossed the room and sat back down in his original place. Tifa turned round on to her side, resting her head on her hand. She smiled at him.

"Feeling worried?"

He took in a breath and fiddled nervously with the zip on his boot.

"Kind of, yeah."

The curve on her lips did not disappear, as she looked at him. Pushing back a lock of chestnut hair from her shoulder, she spoke again to him.

"Cloud, don't worry. Be strong."

"There's no reason to be strong, Tifa." he returned, hopelessly. "Tomorrow, we're gonna be dead. It's going to be all over."

"What's the problem, Cloud?" she seemed concerned. "The prospect of death never usually fazes you out."

Shaking his head, yet glad of her trouble over his apprehension, he made an attempt to reply.

"It's not death, exactly...I suppose it all comes down to what you were saying earlier. There are still things I need to sort out."

Tifa's face suddenly changed. Cloud was startled to see the difference in her features. Her scarlet eyes had filled with the faintest touch of pain, and the contours of her cheekbones had transformed to a pale shade. It unsettled Cloud considerably. Tifa hardly ever let her true feelings known in her facial expressions. Whenever she was hurt, she'd hide it under a mask of contagious cheerfulness. It had been a defence mechanism from when her parents had died. It was just the way Tifa was.

Cloud realised that he hardly knew Tifa as a real person, as someone with underlying emotions and feelings. It was strange, because they'd been friends since childhood, sharing thoughts and secrets; and yet, he did not know her.

"Yes," she finally answered, quietly. "There are still things to sort out."

She lay back down on the hard mattress and closed her eyes.

"Going to sleep now?" Cloud asked. She nodded.

"Hmmm."

He rested his head on the cold, damp wall.

"Goodnight, Tifa."

She grunted in reply, said no more. Cloud turned his face round so that his ear rested against the wall.

"Aeris?"

There was no reply for a second and then he heard her voice.

"Cloud?"

He paused. Aeris, he thought, he did not know her either. Would he ever get to know her now?

"Goodnight, Aeris."

Her voice was an exquisite bell.

"Goodnight, Cloud."

-oOo-

* * *

_Next: The escape from Midgar..._


	9. PART 1 The Escape From Midgar

**A/N: **Thanks to **ruderevived** for featuring my FF7 stories on his community, **Phoenix Down**, and for giving me the chance to join the staff. Much appreciated. :) We have an awesome collection of FF stories, so if you're a Final Fantasy fan, please support the community by subscribing - you won't be disappointed. :) You can find the link in my C2 communities section. Thanks!

Ludi x

-oOo-**

* * *

**

**: Chapter Eight : The Escape From Midgar**

The world was full of magnets.

Cloud could feel them in front of him, pulling. It was dark. Behind him it was green, and light, but he could not look back. There was someone behind him, trying to comfort him. He could hear the words too.

_You can't change anything by just sitting back and looking at it._

What are you saying? he voiced into the darkness, confused.

_It's started moving._

What has?

The light was leaving, so was the voice.

_Wake up!_

But the world of magnets was slowly pulling him in.

-oOo-

* * *

A relentless and chilling draught of air awakened Cloud from the murky shadows of his dream. He couldn't imagine where on earth this icy current was coming from. It was cold enough in the cells already, Cloud thought, feeling irritated at his untimely awakening. 

Cloud shifted uneasily. His eyelids were caked together with sleep, and his back ached terribly from sleeping in a sitting position. Forcing his eyes open, Cloud found that he could finally focus on his surroundings. To his immense surprise, he found that his cell door was wide open. Now feeling wide-awake, he leapt to his feet, looking to see if he really wasn't dreaming. No: the door really was unlocked and swinging ominously on its hinges.

Cloud's heart began to thud and his stomach to churn. It was not just the breeze that was cold - it was the atmosphere itself, stealing round him like a wintry hand. He glanced at Tifa, who was still fast asleep, her chest rising and falling in time to her rhythmic breathing. Cloud crept to the door and peered round the corner. Down the corridor was the slumped body of a Shinra guard. Cloud hesitated. He'd known something was wrong, and he had this feeling that he shouldn't get involved. Nevertheless, he found his legs moving toward the man.

Swivelling the guard onto his back, Cloud saw that he was dead. It was not this that caused Cloud's blood to curdle, nor was it the passionless, understated way in which the man's body had been sliced through with a sword. It was the unalterable mask of fear on his pallid, lifeless face. It was as though he'd died in an instant of morbid terror, as though he'd been faced with something more frightening than anyone could have imagined.

Cloud stood up, reeling. Images began to flood his mind, scenes from a past he had been pushing away for longer than he cared to admit...He raced back into the cell, shook Tifa awake desperately.

"Tifa, Tifa, wake up, wake up!"

Tifa stirred, blinked once or twice in confusion.

"Cloud, what...?"

He didn't wait for her to continue.

"Tifa, go outside, tell me it isn't real...!"

Hearing the panic in his voice, she sat up, alarmed.

"Cloud, what do you mean?" Her eyes flicked over the open doorway. "Why's the door open?"

He ignored the question.

"Just look outside, Tifa."

Wordlessly, she walked out of the room, bewilderment on her face. Cloud rested his head against the wall and closed his eyes. He could not get rid of the dead man's face. It remained firmly imprinted on his brain. Still, he managed to ease his dazed mind, and followed Tifa out of the room. She was kneeling over the guard, examining his wound.

"He's dead," she said thickly, turning her head toward Cloud as he appeared from the cell. "A clean stab-wound to the chest." She stood up and turned to him, a troubled look on her face. "I've never seen a wound so true, so precise. He must have died straight off and hardly felt a thing."

Cloud shivered instinctively.

"Tifa," he began decisively, "wake up Aeris and tell her what's wrong. I'll get Barret and Red XIII."

Tifa willingly went to fetch Aeris. Cloud knocked on the door of the next cell and thrust it open. Barret had been sitting against the furthest wall, wide-awake. Red XIII too was awake, lying on the stony floor. They looked alarmed to see him.

"Cloud!" Barret exclaimed. "How'd you get out?"

"No time to explain," Cloud breathed. "Just take a look at what's outside."

Sensing Cloud's urgency, the two rushed out, Cloud close behind. Red XIII turned his head toward him gravely.

"This wasn't done by any normal human being," he stated ominously. "I can smell it in the air."

Aeris' eyes were hard, her brow furrowed.

"What happened to him, Cloud? That look on his face..." She trembled and hid her face in her hands. Cloud looked thoughtfully at the corpse of the Shinra guard. From his resting position and down to the end of the corridor and further, a trail of blood made an erratic yettelling path.

"You know, Red XIII, you may be right," he muttered. "And I think this trail of blood will lead us straight to the murderer."

"We're following?" Barret asked doubtfully.

"We sure are," Cloud replied. He had calmed his giddy mind of the gripping fright. It had been replaced by the irresistible enticement of an unknown force he could not push away. It was pulling at him, luring him its way. He found it impossible to repel.

"As long as you know what you're doing, Cloud," Tifa put in. He nodded, though he could not have been further from knowing his true intentions in the first place.

"Well, if you're sure," Tifa replied, "then let's go."

They followed the trail of blood down to the end of the passageway, and then stopped. Aeris gasped, cupped her hands to her mouth in nausea. The whole room appeared to be filled with dead bodies, all slashed with a sword in the same fashion as the Shinra guard. They all appeared to be Shinra personnel on closer inspection, and their faces all wore the same bizarrely horrified expressions. 

"What the hell is going on!" Barret cried, his face quite pale. "What kinda monster could kill all these people - Shinra guards no less?"

Cloud did not answer. His mind was being told to go on and he could not stop it. He simply led them after the trail of blood, up the flights of stairs and on to the 69th floor. There was not a single person to stop them. They were all dead.

As they walked down the passageway to President's Shinra's office, there were no guards alive to arrest them either. Each one of them were lying where they had been stationed, sprawled in pools of blood, their dying faces shrouded in terror. All was quiet, except for the breathing of Cloud and his companions, their footsteps padding softly on the lush carpets.

The doors to the President's office were closed, but still the blood and carnage went on beyond the twin portals. Cloud reached out to pull them apart. They swung open with a creak at his touch.

There was a distinctive smell in the air. It coiled, thick and suffocating, round the group of intruders. Cloud almost choked on it. He knew the odour that was stealing round him. It was the smell of death.

President Shinra was lying face down on his throne-like desk, high on the podium. Straight through his back was a thin murasame blade that had clearly penetrated through to the other side of the man's body.

"Oh my God," Tifa whispered, cupping her mouth with her hands.

Slowly, Cloud stepped forward, his heart pounding crazily in his breast. He climbed the steps up to the podium. No blood had poured from the President's wound, the sword's sharpness had been so true. Grabbing what little hair the man had, Cloud lifted his head up. The eyes were yellow, bulging in wordless terror, the mouth was gaping open. From the corner of his lower lip ran the only evidence of any blood. Cloud dropped the man's head with a thud and closed his eyes, unable to get rid of the potent image.

"He's dead," he said, his mouth thick with the foul smell in the room.

"Who'd do such a thing?" Aeris murmured.

Cloud stood back from the podium.

"That sword," he told them quietly. "It's Sephiroth's"

"Sephiroth?" Red XIII repeated sharply.

"Yes," Cloud replied. "Sephiroth, remember? He was a great international war hero. But no one's seen him for five years."

"How do _you _know that that sword belongs to Sephiroth?" Barret scoffed.

Before Cloud could answer, there was a movement at a nearby chaise-long. Barret lunged forward and was amazed to see Palmer emerge from behind the chair, quivering all over.

"Don't hurt me!" he begged, shaking violently. "I wasn't doing any harm!"

Cloud rounded on him.

"Did you see anything? Tell me what happened!"

Palmer didn't hesitate at all. He began to pour forth his story in hisstammering speech.

"It was Sephiroth, he came into the room! At first, I thought I was dreaming - I mean, everyone says he's dead, don't they? But I saw him, I saw him with my own eyes!" He looked round at them eagerly, as if trying to convince disbelievers. "He was wearing a black cloak and his hair...it was all long and silvery! And...he had this monster with him!" He made waggling gestures with his chubby fingers. "It was hideous! No head at all on its neck...!"

Barret grabbed him by his dickey-bow.

"What! You mean that headless spook in Hojo's lab?"

Palmer nodded vigorously. "Yeah...that one!"

Cloud pondered for a moment.

"Jenova," he whispered.

"Huh?" Tifa was baffled.

"Jenova," Cloud repeated, more loudly. "That monster was Jenova."

Barret was about to question Cloud's apparent knowledge when the drone of helicopter wings sounded outside on the balcony. They all looked up, and Palmer managed to break himself free of Barret's grip.

"It's the new President!" he cried, running out on to the balcony. "The new President's here!"

"Who's the new President?" Red XIII inquired, baffled at the turn of events. Barret looked out of the window at the landing helicopter.

"That'll be Rufus Shinra, the President's son," he snorted mockingly. "Guess we gotta go out and pay our respects."

They followed Palmer out of the room. The large man had escaped into the helicopter, but someone else was coming out in his place.

The new President, Rufus Shinra, jumped from the helicopter swiftly. He could not have been more than twenty-five years of age, and yet he carried himself with an air of shrewd self-confidence, something his father never had. His clothes, elaborate and expensive, set off his handsome, dignified features to perfection. As he neared the group, a false, white-toothed smile touched his lips.

"And who might you be, you who enter my father's quarters so barbarously?"

He spoke in a deep, sonorous voice, his mocking tone working Barret into a rage.

"We're from AVALANCHE, you ignorant pig, ain't you heard of us?"

"Ah," Rufus grinned lazily, "the ones who destroyed Sector Seven."

"That was your damned father, not us, and you know it!" Barret retorted heatedly. Rufus passed a hand through his strawberry-blond hair.

"I know nothing of the sort," he replied idly. "Let's just say that my father and I hadn't the cloest of relationships." He walked past each member of the group, lingering over Aeris and Tifa as though they were pieces of art. When satisfied that he'd assessed them all, he stood back.

"What a strange group of rag-tag misfits you are," he mused. "You are barely worth my notice. But since you are the first people that I have met as my new subjects, let me give you the honour of hearing my first presidential speech."

"Just like his father," Tifa muttered, contemptuously. "Love's to hear his own voice."

Rufus grinned lazily at her.

"Perhaps my late father and I had that much in common, but little else. It will not have escaped your notice that he had his own way of exacting his power. This he did with the sales of Mako. Money. My father was a greedy man. Greedy - and stupid. While his methods were generally a quite effective ingredient for power, he had no proper understanding of how Mako is the key to ruling this Planet." He paused, began to pace the balcony ponderously. "I, on the other hand, have better plans to govern the Planet. By instilling fear into the hearts of the people, I will not need to invest in the marketing of Mako to ensure my success. And, once the Promised Land is found, my work will become even easier." He stopped and stared at them. "Do you understand what I mean?"

Cloud ignored him, andturned to his companions.

"Barret, you and the others get out of here. I'll take care of Rufus myself."

Barret quickly led the others back into the building. When they had gone, Cloud turned back to Rufus. The other spoke first.

"You are from SOLDIER, aren't you. You have the eyes of those infused with Mako."

Cloud nodded.

"I was once in SOLDIER. But that's irrelevant. Your father has been murdered and I aim to catch the killer."

"Oh?" Rufus raised an eyebrow. "And what makes you think I care?"

"Your father was murdered by Sephiroth. Apparently, Jenova was with him. I know the Shinra was working on Jenova and I need to know their whereabouts."

Rufus swept aside the question. "Sephiroth is not your concern. We are looking into his person already. But I have another proposition for you. What is your name?"

"Cloud. Cloud Strife."

"Cloud." Rufus nodded thoughtfully and his eyes swept over Cloud with a blatantly appreciative look. "Listen, Cloud, why not join the Shinra once more? You and your group...I could have uses for you. And the girl...Aeris Gainsborough. She is vital to our investigations."

Cloud shook his head.

"I'd never join the Shinra again. You're all the same - heartless, thieving power-mongers. Sorry but it just isn't my scene."

Rufus stroked his hair again, unconcerned.

"What a shame. That means that we can't be friends." He pulled back the lapel of his snow-white coat and produced a shotgun. "And I'm afraid your execution simply can't wait until tomorrow."

Cocking the gun rapidly, he aimed at Cloud and fired, but Cloud just about managed tododge out of the way. With a strangled cry, he rushed at Rufus, his sword gripped tight in his hand. He swung the blade at the other, confident of a strike. However, he had underestimated the skills of the other. Rufus had already jumped up deftly and caught hold of the nearest runner of the helicopter that was hovering in the air.

"That's enough for today, Cloud," he called mockingly, as the helicopter began to sail away. With a dexterous, gymnastic-like somersault, he landed inside the machine, and disappeared out of sight.

Cursing, Cloud ran back into the President's office and through the doors. Tifa was waiting there for him.

"Did you finish him?" she asked.

"No," he shook his head. "He got away in his helicopter. Where are the others? We've got to get out of here!"

"They're down on the first floor," she repeated hastily.

"Great, let's go."

* * *

They rushed to the nearest lift and went down to the bottom. The ground floor was deserted. 

"Barret, can we get out!" Cloud called, as he neared the others.

"Like hell, we can!" Barret replied, standing at the front doors. "We're surrounded by members of SOLDIER out front. They'll kill us if we even take one step outside the door!"

"What do we do?" Aeris breathed.

Cloud looked around frantically. At the back of the room were models of the Shinra's newest motorcars, standing out for an exhibition. Red XIII caught the suddenly enlightened look on his face.

"You've got a plan?"

Cloud turned to them with bright eyes.

"I sure have! We're gonna ride out! Come this way!"

He made his way to the display vehicles, and jumped on to the nearest motorbike. Turning it on and revving it up, he gave a little whoop of delight.

"Wow, I haven't ridden one of these in ages!"

Tifa sighed humorously. "Cloud, you're crazy, you really are."

"So?" He pointed to a blue truck nearby. "You lot get into that. Tifa, you can drive, right?" She nodded. "I'll take the lead, and you follow me, okay? If anything happens, I'll cover you."

"Right." They jumped into the truck, Tifa at the wheel. Cloud signalled to her.

"Ready?"

She gave him the thumbs up sign, turned the key in the ignition. It spurted into life.

"Ready when you are!"

"Then let's go!"

Cloud kicked the bike into gear. It responded with a jerk, began to tear off its stand and across the hallway. Cloud felt an immediate sense of power, travelling at high speed up the steps to the next floor. His heart began to thrum pleasantly with the rush of adrenaline that shot through his body.

At the end of the second floor was a large window. Cloud stopped, the truck following suit behind him. Underneath the window was the new Shinra motorway, which had been constructed to lead out of Midgar. Cloud looked back at Tifa and pointed to their decided escape route. Understanding, she nodded back.

Cloud pushed hard at the pedal with his foot. The motorbike roared forward mercilessly, crashing through the window and sending a shower of glass raining on to the motorway below. Cloud landed with a thud on the road, and then sped away without a second thought. The truck raced after him, keeping on his tail. Down below, the soldiers that had been surrounding the Headquarters gazed up in helpless amazement, watching the enemy make its getaway. Almost immediately they could hear the whine of sirens behind them, then the whirr of bike engines as the enemy finally gave chase. Cloud allowed Tifa to take the lead as he hung back, ready to take on their agressors. The stakes were high, but Cloud had faced tougher situations. As each bike came roaring past he dealt a blow with his sword, smashing the Shinra soldiers from their bikes before they could ram Tifa's truck off the unfinished highway. Cloud swerved and dodged like a natural, feeling completely at home with his vehicle, almost an extension of the bike. It was a long time since he'd felt so free, and as the last soldier finally fell he gave an instinctive whoop of triumph.

It was not long before they reached the end of the road, the end of the highway that led out of Midgar. Cloud hit the brakes and with a flourish jumped off the cycle. Glancing up, he saw Tifa emerge from the truck. She ran to him, threw her arms round him.

"Cloud, you did it!"

He held her breathlessly for a while, then pulled away gently. Looking ahead, he saw, for the first time in ages, a world without a plate, without darkness. The motorway had led them straight out of Midgar.

"Look," he said, as the others gathered round him from the truck. "Look. There's the sunset."

The sky was a tapestry of rich orange and amethyst, a tint of rosy pink touching the cottony clouds as they neared the descending sun. The landscape seemed to stretch on for an eternity they had not realised possible. A cluster of hills gleamed a tawny hue in the evening light and a group of birds were sailing against the horizon. The faintest shade of sapphire touched the furthermost reaches of the heavens, a radiant, intense azure. Aeris held in a breath of silent wonder.

"So pretty," she murmured, softly. "This is the first time I've been out of Midgar ever since I can remember."

Barret spoke to her guiltily.

"Aeris...I've got to thank you for what you did back there...you saved my daughter's life."

She shook her head.

"Mr. Barret, there's no need to thank me at all. Marlene was an innocent, I only did what anyone would have done." She gazed back on to the grassy plains before them. "We're free..."

Cloud remained silent. Yes, they were free - and yet, he felt that he was not. From the moment he'd met AVALANCHE, to this moment now, when they'd reached the outskirts of Midgar, something had awakened in him. It was the realisation that he had an unresolved past, and that he must lay claim to it, in whatever way possible.

"No, we're not free yet, Aeris," he answered, his voice sounding different on the breeze. "There are still things I must search for."

"Things?" she asked.

"Sephiroth," he replied quietly. "I knew him, once. For all this time, I thought he was dead. But now, he has returned. I must find him again, ask him my questions."

"What questions?" Barret asked.

"I don't know," he replied, honestly. Barret laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Then I'm comin' with you! Idunno where this whole crazy thing is gonna end up, but this thing with the Shinra ain't finished! I still gotta save the Planet, for Marlene's sake!"

Tifa nodded.

"Barret's right. Besides Cloud, whatever you do, I'll always stand by your side. You can be certain of that."

Aeris looked out into the distance soulfully, her face contemplative.

"There are still things I have to search for too," she said.

"The Ancients?" Cloud asked, and she nodded.

"Yes. I need to know the truth. I need to know what I am. Maybe, if I travel with you after Sephiroth, I may find the answers."

Cloud turned to the fiery beast.

"Red XIII?"

Red XIII stepped forward, his tail fanning the breeze.

"All right. I'll come with you as far as my hometown, but that's all. My tribe needs me, and I must go to them with all due haste."

Cloud looked up, stepped forward to the edge of the road. The world was spread out before them - yet, in emotional terms, it seemed alien to them. They had not seen the existence of these trees, of these hills for so long, maybe even for years. The touch of the sun, the flight of the birds, the colours of the earth, the purity of this air had all been denied them. They'd fought for it, and yet now that they had it, their journey was not over.

The five stood together, united by an unknown call. Each had a different purpose, and a different intention for carrying on.

But Cloud knew his only.

Sephiroth.

-oOo-

**-END OF PART ONE-**

**

* * *

**_Next: The beginning of Part 2 - Cloud retells his past with Sephiroth..._


	10. PART 2 Sephiroth

**PART TWO**

_'During the course of my studies, I chanced upon some material_

_that at first caused in me great excitement...a prophecy of some_

_sort. It told me that the saviour of the world would be born out_

_of love..._

_...Beings such as us are not capable of fulfilling such frivolous _

_fancies anymore.'_

Project by Dr. K. Gast - _The third annual report on the Jenova project_

-oOo-

_

* * *

_

**: Chapter One :Sephiroth**

The nearest village to Midgar was a small, tranquil settlement on the outskirts of the wastelands that surrounded the Shinra capital. Kalm Town was neat and spruce, with castle-like towers, welcoming inns and pavements of indigo blue brick. The inhabitants were mainly miners who worked in the neighbouring mines, searching for the precious Mythril metal. For this reason, Kalm was quite a prosperous town.

The five had travelled for nearly a day before they reached the village. They had not eaten since being thrown into the Shinra cells. The only way of keeping their spirits up was by light conversation and stupid jokes, mainly cracked by Barret. Seeing the pleasant trails of smoke exuding from the homely rooftops had caused a wave of delight in them. The prospect of food and sleep had ceased them from talking, and sped up their walking pace. Once at the entrance to the village, they had all felt like getting down on their hands and knees and kissing the ground: all except for Red XIII, who seemed the least ravaged by hunger compared to the others.

They'd found the town's only inn, stuffed themselves silly with a hearty meal, and then all retired to their beds. All this had been paid for by the Gil stolen from the battles encountered with Shinra soldiers outside Midgar.

It seemed odd to Cloud, but after having spent this short time together in each other's company, they all felt the best of friends. And yet, they never talked about their pasts, or what they felt inside, or why they were really carrying on with their search for whatever it was that they were looking for. All they ever spoke of was Midgar, how glad they were to be out of it, how they wondered everyone else back there was coping. Cloud knew, it was not hard to see, that they all had something to hide, even him. They were not really friends, he decided. They did not know each other - he didn't even really know Tifa, though he couldn't imagine why. He suspected it was because they had been apart for so long, but there was something about the whole issue that troubled Cloud.

"There's still somethin' I don't understand," Barret began, as they all lay back idly on their beds, unused to the luxury they were experiencing. Red XIII looked up from his place on the rug next to the fireplace.

"Yes, there's something confusing me too."

"What's that?" Cloud asked, resting his elbow on the soft, downy pillow.

"Well," Barret leant forward toward him, "what I don't get is how you know all that stuff 'bout Sephiroth and the Ancients and that weird monster in Hojo's lab. You said that you knew him once."

Cloud sat upslowly in his bed. He was not afraid to talk - it was inevitable that it should come to this, that he should have to tell the truth. He ran his hand through his hair, sighed.

"It happened a long, long time ago."

"Five years ago, right?" Tifa said, knowingly. Cloud stared back at her candidly.

"Yeah. You were there too, so you'd remember what I'm about to talk about Tifa."

"And?" Barret encroached, impatiently.

"Well..." Cloud scratched the back of his neck. "Five years ago was when I actually met Sephiroth. I'd left my hometown of Nibelheim two years before, and I'd made my way up to the top-class of SOLDIER. Sephiroth and I became friends."

"Friends?" Barret was shocked. "With a cold-blooded murderer!"

"Hey, listen, we had respect for each other. We were war-buddies," Cloud replied. "Anyway, let me continue. That year, I was going back to Nibelheim for the first time in two years. And I was going with Sephiroth, the person I'd been aspiring to be all this time. I was thrilled, but that goes unsaid.

"We were on a mission about Mako Reactors or something. We had to collect materia from the village, but there was trouble during our mission. Recently, strange monsters had been seen round Nibelheim. We encountered some on our way to the town." Cloud looked up. "Sephiroth is much stronger in reality than any other stories people may tell of him. I witnessed his power myself."

"So what actually happened?" Red XIII asked.

"Well, I went into Nibelheim. I met Tifa..."

"Oh!" Aeris exclaimed. "It was a meeting of childhood friends!"

"Yes," he replied. "I was really surprised with Tifa. But...I suppose it would be better if I told you the whole story in detail."

Barret made himself comfortable on the bed.

"Ready when you are, Cloud-boy."

-oOo-

* * *

When Sephiroth and I arrived at Nibelheim, everything was quiet. There were four of us in our party - as well as us two, there were two Shinra soldiers acting as our bodyguards. Sephiroth seemed to be really aloof toward them, but I soon became friends with them. You see, I suppose Sephiroth didn't need to be protected, so I didn't really blame him. But for a boy of sixteen to have such protection was new to me, and I was really excited about it. I was longing to see Tifa, and tell her all about being in SOLDIER. But she was nowhere to be found. The whole place seemed to be deserted. Yet as we walked toward the Nibelheim inn, I could see the eyes of the inhabitants staring at us out of their windows. At first, I thought they were afraid of the monsters. But, now I come to think of it, they were probably afraid of us... 

We went into the inn, and we were shown to our rooms. When Sephiroth and I were alone, he began to talk to me. I was surprised. Sephiroth was never one for talking.

"So, how does it feel?" he asked, his voice cold and detached, as always. "How does it feel to be back home?"

"Great," I answered, though I was still a little perplexed at the lukewarm welcome of the people. Sephiroth gazed out of the room's window. It was heavenly outside, blazing and sunlit.

"This place," he murmured, "it looks so familiar..." Then he rose his voice slightly. "I wouldn't know how you feel," he replied, half to himself. "I don't have a hometown."

"You must have a hometown," I answered. "Everyone does. Where do your parents live?"

"My mother's dead," was the bitter reply. "Her name was Jenova. She died giving birth to me. I never knew her."

I was taken aback, and I felt really guilty.

"How about your father?"

"My father?" Sephiroth seemed amused by the question. He began to laugh heartlessly. "To tell you the truth, I always thought he was cold..." He turned to me, seeming a little less lost in his dream world. He did not answer my question. "Oh yes. I almost forgot. Cloud, you may see your family and friends."

So I went to see them.

My mother was in her house, alone. She'd always been alone, ever since my father had died in the Great War. But, I always remembered her as a bright, vibrant woman, even after I'd left town. Now, after two years away, she seemed to have changed, though she tried to disguise it. She asked me questions. Questions about being in SOLDIER, about my wages, about my life with the Shinra. She said she was worried about me being tempted by the city-life. She wanted me to settle down and get married! A nice, older girl, she said. That would be the perfect type for me...Though I heard what she said, I didn't listen. I thought I was grown up, and her words annoyed me. If I'd known she was going to die two days later, I would have told her how much I loved her. Because she would always be my mother.

I went to Tifa's house too. I'd been dying to meet her again after all this time. But no one was in. I even went up to her room and snooped around a bit, but still, no one came, so in the end I gave up. I still had tomorrow to find her, so I went back to the inn and had an early night.

The next day, Sephiroth and I were to go to the Mako Reactor in Mount Nibel. This mountain was notoriously treacherous, so we had to have a guide. And who should our guide be but Tifa?

She was just the same as I'd always remembered her, except a tiny bit older. I was thrilled to see her, but now wasn't the time or place to catch up on the old times. Sephiroth was eager to proceed with the journey. However, his plans were hindered by Tifa's dad's ambition to catch him on camera with his daughter. After a few beggings, I managed to get myself into the picture too. I remember, Tifa's dad was so pleased. He said he'd get the picture developed as soon as possible.

We began the journey toward Mount Nibel, the three of us with our two bodyguards. Tifa knew the area like the back of her hand. If it weren't for her, we would've ended up seriously lost. The winds were hazardous and there were dangerous creatures about. But, what with Sephiroth's almighty strength, we were practically immune to any attacks.

At last we came to the reactor. Only Sephiroth and I entered, as the place was meant only for top Shinra personnel. We oversaw that the reactor as properly producing materia. And then, it seemed that Sephiroth found another back room that he entered. I followed him.

"What is it?" I asked.

Sephiroth was standing by the doorway, facing a room full of some sort of isolation chambers, like large metal pods. He was staring up a flight of stairs.

"Do you see that?" he breathed.

I followed his gaze up the stairs. At the top was an iron door, and at the head of the frame was a sign that read 'JENOVA'.

"Isn't that the name of your mother?" I asked, confused, and doubtful. Sephiroth nodded slowly.

"Yes."

He began to walk toward one of the large pods. Standing on tiptoe, he looked in through the round observational window. There was something in his face that unsteadied me. As he stepped back, he looked at me.

"Look through the window," he instructed quietly.

I did as I was told. Walking up and raising on to my toes, I looked through the window. What I saw, I never forgot. They were humans, but they were monsters. I cannot describe their hideousness, it is beyond words. I stumbled backward, too shocked to speak.

"What...are they?" I managed to stammer.

Sephiroth glared back at me. His brilliant azure eyes were like two gimlets boring into me as he spoke.

"Those people," he explained, "where once humans, just like you and I. But the Shinra transformed them into these beings."

"How? Who did this?"

Sephiroth turned away, looked back up to the door at the top of the steps.

"Hojo, their Head of Science and Technology. He was an inexperienced man assigned to carry on the work of a great scientist." His face twisted with disgust. "_He_ injected these people with the cells of Jenova. He wanted to recreate Jenova's power in humankind. By doing this, he stripped them of their humanity, reduced them to these demons." He turned to me, his eyes flashing, his face contorted in pain, anguish, an emotion I found hard to read "I have often," he continued, "ever since I was a very small child, felt that I was different, somehow not like the others. I always knew Jenova was my mother, but I never knew who or what Jenova was. Am I like this then! Am I a monster!"

Quick as lightning, he drew his sword, and slashed at the nearest pod with all the force he could muster. Clang after clang after clang, he did not stop striking it, and his ferocity frightened me. Then, at last, he fell to the floor, and he was weeping.

"Why didn't you tell me Dr. Gast!" he was wailing. "Why didn't you tell me! Why did you have to die!"

I wished someone had told him, if only it would have stopped him, the world's most powerful man, from screaming like that in front of me, on the floor, sobbing, pathetic. It was an image I'd find hard to lose for a long time, and for many a night after, I found it impossible to go to sleep.

The next day, Sephiroth disappeared.

We were all in a state of trepidation, we'd all searched everywhere for him. There was one place where we had not yet dared to look, an old building called the Shinra Mansion. This disused building had once housed the President and his minions in the old days during the Great War. We felt certain Sephiroth was there. However, I was the only one who was brave enough to volunteer to go inside.

The Shinra Mansion was totally abandoned. No one had used it in years. I wandered round the place for several minutes. The former glory of the house seemed to speak to me. There were tapestries; old, expensive paintings; a grand piano in one room, dusty, broken, long-forgotten...

There was the door to the cellar. I decided to go down it - after all, I had not seen Sephiroth anywhere else. It was dark down there. A rickety wooden staircase led down to the bottom. The ceiling was strung with cobwebs and the walls were oozing with moss and mildew. There were two doorways in the cellar - one was locked, but the other was open. Sephiroth must be in there. I walked inside. The room I entered was a lot cleaner and ordered than the rest of the basement. It seemed to have been a sort of makeshift laboratory. To the left of this room, there was a great library. I walked past the stacks of thick tomes, the smell of ancient leather creeping round me. Then, I stopped.

Sephiroth was sitting at a crumbling oak desk, reading avidly at several of those aged books. There was a sort of wild intentness in his eyes, as though what he read inspired him. I was afraid to interrupt him, but I had to.

"Sephiroth? What are you doing here?"

He stared up at me. His look was one of unrecognition.

"Who are you?"

"Cloud. Don't you remember me? I'm Cloud."

Then, his face changed again. It was a frightening sort of smile, a smile that was full of hate.

"Oh," he began, "the traitor."

I didn't understand what he meant.

"Traitor? I'm not a traitor, Sephiroth."

"Yes." He rose, his tall, statuesque figure eagle-like. "Yes, you are a traitor."

"What are you talking about!"

I was afraid, at least, I think I was. I was afraid of his words, they held such depth.

"Do you really want to know what I mean?" His voice rose, powerful, certain. I stood, quaking, unable to answer. Sephiroth saw that I was scared, and he began to pace the room with a scornful smile.

"Do you know," he began, his tone dangerously soft, "of the Ancient's?"

I shook my head numbly. He continued to explain.

"The Ancients were a race of people who roamed the Planet many thousands of years ago. In fact, 'The Ancients' is rather a base name for them. Their proper name is the Cetra.

"The Cetra's purpose in life was to find the Promised Land, a land of supreme happiness, a place where they would become one with the Planet. For many years, the Cetra followed this objective, it was the very essence of their being. And then, many began to lapse, leave their way of life behind. They settled down, reared sheep on farms, grew crops, built cities. They lost the ability to converse with the Planet, to channel their incomprehensible powers. They became ordinary human beings."

He turned to me, disgust on his face.

"Those people, they are _your_ ancestors."

I was speechless. I did not know whether he was speaking the truth or not. He began to pace again.

"Several years ago, the Shinra made a breakthrough discovery. Their then Head of Science and Technology, Dr. Gast, and his assistant, Dr. Hojo, found the body of the last remaining Cetra somewhere on the Northern Continent. They recovered the body and called it Jenova."

Again, he stopped, turned to me.

"Don't you understand? Jenova was the last remaining Cetra. And I, I am her son!" A sort of twisted pride filled his features. "In my body flows the blood of the Cetra! I am one of the rightful heirs of this Planet! The destiny of this world has been passed on to me!"

I shook my head wildly.

"Sephiroth, you don't know what you're talking about! Come back outside. Come with me."

All of a sudden, his face fell. He sat back on the chair, and looked tired.

"Leave me be," he replied, his voice weary. "Just leave me be."

There was nothing for me to do except leave him be.

-oOo-

* * *

"What!" Barret gazed at Cloud in horror. "So that weird, headless creature is Sephiroth's _mother_!" 

Cloud nodded.

"In a manner of speaking, I guess the answer's yes."

Barret banged his fist on the headboard.

"That's disgusting! No wonder Sephiroth went crazy and murdered the President!"

"Barret!" Tifa cut in. "Let Cloud continue! This is very important!"

"Yes," Red XIII added. "This is very interesting. Carry on, Cloud."

-oOo-

* * *

For many days afterward, Sephiroth remained in the library and would not come out. We had our bodyguards posted around the area, just in case he reappeared. But none of us were prepared for his next move. 

One day I woke up in the Shinra Mansion after my shift of vigilance on Sephiroth. To my horror, I found the whole of the village to be in flames. Rushing out, I tried to see what was going on. But no one was to be seen. Everyone had been slaughtered or burnt to death. The bodyguards lay on the floor nearby, dead. Never had such pain filled me. My friends, my mother, Tifa...

As I walked through the blazing buildings, I saw a figure ahead. It was Sephiroth. He had his sword drawn, it was covered in blood. I rushed after him, but he had vanished, almost as if through the flames. But I knew where he had gone. To the Mako Reactor in Mount Nibel: because Jenova was there.

As I arrived there, I could hear cries from within. I recognised the voice. It was Tifa's.

She was kneeling over the dead body of her father. Sephiroth's sword had impaled him through the chest. She did not notice me. She was crying, she was in such pain, such pain...

"Sephiroth did this to you, didn't he papa!" she screamed, her voice rising uncontrollably. "Sephiroth, SOLDIER...Mako Reactors...Shinra...everything! For what they've done to you papa, I hate them all!"

She pulled the sword out of her father's body, ran into the next room. As I watched, only one thought filled my brain.

I will kill you, Sephiroth. I will _kill_ you.

I ran after Tifa into the next room. Sephiroth was at the top of the stairs, in front of the door that said 'JENOVA'. Tifa was running toward him, ready to strike with the sword. But she was no match for him. He twisted the sword from her grasp and brandished it in her direction. The blade cut through her stomach. She fell backward, down the stairs, to my feet. Sephiroth turned, opened the door and went through.

I knelt down over Tifa. A wave of indescribable fury swept over me. Why? Why had Sephiroth done this to me? Why had he destroyed everything I'd ever cared for?

"Cloud."

It was Tifa. She'd opened her eyes, was looking into mine.

"Cloud, I knew you'd come back when I needed you. Just like we promised."

I carried her in my arms to the corner of the room and laid her down tenderly. I was afraid she would die, but this only spurred on my hate of Sephiroth. I had to kill him. I _would_ kill him.

I ran up the steps, my sword drawn. I went into the room that held Jenova.

Inside, Sephiroth stood in front of a large glass case. The facade was that of a woman. It was the image of Jenova.

"Mother!" Sephiroth was calling out into the resounding room. "I am here! It is I, mother!"

He stepped forward, slowly.

"Those worthless fools have kept us apart. They would have stopped us from finding the Promised Land. But I have come for you. And together, we will rule this Planet."

He ripped off the huge edifice, and I saw, for the first time, Jenova, the real Jenova. She was beautiful, but she was beautiful in a sinister, alien way. Her skin was a pale shade of blue, almost transparent, and her veins flowed with a kind of prismatic liquid. On her head was a metal clamp, like some sort of mechanical headdress.

I was horrified, but still, my initial purpose was stuck fast in my brain.

"Sephiroth!" I called out. He turned to me, calmness on his face. He didn't care. My pain was not his concern.

"Sephiroth, why have you done this? Why have you done this!"

"I have done nothing," was his cold reply, "except free your friends from their misery."

"What misery!" I cried back, the abhorrence becoming a real, physical thing within me. "I'm the only one left feeling misery! And surely you are too! Aren't you sorry for what you've done!"

He laughed shrilly, evilly.

"Sorry! What have I got to be sorry about! My mother and I, we will rule this Planet, together!"

The emotion was boiling in my fingertips now, a tight crescendo.

"No!" I screamed. "I won't let you! You've taken it all away from me - Nibelheim, the townspeople, mother, Tifa...I will kill you!"

Yes - I would. I'd kill him. Sephiroth understood the challenge.

He drew his sword.

-oOo-

* * *

Everyone gazed at Cloud with bated breath. And yet, he found, he could not possibly go on. 

"And?" Barret prompted eagerly.

Cloud looked down at his hands.

"I didn't kill him. I don't remember what happened next. When I woke up, I was alone in the Mako Reactor."

"You don't remember at all?" Barret persevered.

"No. I don't." He looked up. "But, one thing puzzles me. Why didn't Sephiroth kill me, when he had the chance. He could easily have finished me off, just like all the others. I don't understand why he didn't."

No one offered an explanation. Then, Tifa spoke, her face flushed a bright red.

"Cloud, when Sephiroth hit me, was I hurt very bad?"

Cloud turned to her.

"I thought you were a goner, Tifa. It made me feel...really sad."

"What a remarkable story," Red XIII chimed in, shaking his head in wonder. Aeris said nothing, but sat on the edge of her bed, biting her thumbnail. Cloud called to her.

"Aeris?"

She looked up at him sharply.

"What?"

"What are you thinking of?"

She didn't reply for a moment, but crossed her legs neatly and pulled her dress over her knees.

"It's just a shock, I suppose," she finally answered. "Sephiroth...Jenova...the Cetra..." She sighed, looked up at the ceiling, back down again. She seemed suddenly shaky. "If we are all of the same blood - me, Sephiroth and Jenova - then I'm not the last. I'm not."

"Did you know Sephiroth?" Cloud asked her.

She shook her head vehemently.

"No. Of course I didn't. But..."

She didn't finish the sentence, but remained pensive.

"I guess that explains it, then," said Barret. "You gotta sort this thing out with Sephiroth, Cloud."

"Yes," he replied quietly. "I have to know why he didn't kill me. And I also have to know why he's killing people again. Why he's taken Jenova."

"Well," Barret lay back on the bed, yawned loudly. "You're sure gonna have a job, me boy."

"I know." He lay back too. "But I won't rest 'till it's done."

Tifa spoke, her voice drowsy.

"This has been too much for one night. Let's get some sleep. We'll find out about Sephiroth's whereabouts tomorrow."

"Yeah." Cloud stretched himself out on the clean, soft sheets. "Let's save our energy for tomorrow. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," they all replied and they all got beneath their sheets. Aeris reached for the lamp switch and flicked it off. As she turned to get under the covers, she met Cloud's gaze. She smiled at him.

"Your eyes," she whispered, "are so bright. Did Sephiroth have eyes like you?"

He hadn't really thought about it before. He didn't see why it was relevant. His skin froze.

"Yes. But his eyes held the power of Jenova," he whispered in reply. He looked back at her, and he realised that she had exceptionally brilliant eyes also. There was a sudden strange connection that began to form in his mind.

Himself, Sephiroth, Aeris...

And someone else he could not remember...

Cloud fell into a deep sleep.

-oOo-

* * *

_Next: The first meeting with Sephiroth..._


	11. PART 2 Junon

**A/N: **Thanks for all the reviews and support you've submitted! I know this is kind of old and out-dated now, especially that Advent Children is going to come out soon, but please keep reading, reviewing, and most of all enjoying:D

-oOo-

**

* * *

**

**: Chapter Two : Junon**

They travelled then, for days, listening for any news of Sephiroth. From Kalm they journeyed south to the Mythril Mines, and then the town of Junon. Junon was really three towns under one name - there was Junon Airport, a large complex where the Shinra controlled shipping imports and exports from the New Continent, and from where the Shinra could travel in their custom-made helicopters. The nearby Junon Town, the Shinra's military base, maintained the airport. Cloud himself had trained in the town for a few years before he had reached top-class SOLDIER. It was a drab-looking city, with tall skyscrapers that were drenched in darkness, smoke, pollution and a foreboding greyness. At night the neon lights would signal to the soldiers that it was time to go out and enjoy themselves. Every need was catered for - there were sleazy bars, and sophisticated ones for the Turks; there were brothels, and weaponry stores, and materia stores - all the kinds of things that could keep your average Shinra soldier satisfied.

Down below the town, which resided on a cliff-side overlooking the Eastern Sea, was Junon Harbour, a simple village where the soldiers often went to poke fun at the simple folk. All the waste from the airport was dumped into the beaches round here, so it was not a pleasant place to stay in. Cloud didn't really want to go back up to the town. He couldn't really remember the time he'd spent up there - he'd been too drugged with Mako - and he didn't particularly want to be reminded of the kind of things people got up to up there. So, much to the dissatisfaction of his companions, they stayed for the night in the stinking harbour before the next ship set sail for the New Continent the next morning.

It was evening when Cloud visited the beach. The sand was muddy, brown, and in the distance stood the ugly erection of an electrical cable tower. He sat there, in the sand, bathed in the light of a falling sun, knees hunched to chest, face pensive. He was remembering Sephiroth, the enigmatic figure he could not rightly place in his past. Why did Sephiroth matter?

On the horizon of murky water, Cloud saw the outline of a dolphin, silky-smooth, swimming slowly to shore. Cloud had not seen a dolphin before. He watched it silently for a moment, it's slippery back arched like a rainbow as it frolicked in the water. He could find no way of expressing the sudden feeling inside him, no movement, no sound would come. Here was a creature, half extinct, so beautiful, so forgotten. It was easy to forget Nature. It was easy to ignore the wonder of all existence. There was man, and man belonging to the Planet, not the Planet to man. What are we doing? Cloud thought in the silence, where are we leading ourselves? The Planet symbolises ourselves, our will to live. We may kill it one day, kill our spirit.

That was why Sephiroth mattered. He would kill people, he would kill the dolphin, he would kill the Planet. Who knew where his power would stop?

* * *

There was a fan-fare the next morning, one loud enough to wake the whole group up. News was going round that Rufus was holding a parade in honour of his new presidency in the town above, and was moving on to the New Continent to survey Mako Reactors. In that case, Cloud knew that he and the others had to be careful.

They wandered into the airport, immediately lost in the heat of the parade. Rufus looked less than amused at all the pomp and ceremony, which had been organised by a simpering Heidigger. It was obvious that Rufus knew his stuff as President, and things were going to change under his régime. Frivolity was not for him, though his overt campness belied this fact. He boarded the ship without so much as an inkling of gratitude, and the culmination of people prevented him from noticing Cloud and the others from boarding along with him. As they boarded, Cloud caught sight of an airship waiting for take-off, glinting in the sun. Cloud stared up at the wonderful thing in amazement. Never had he seen an aircraft so vast, so imposing on the insignificant forms of mankind. When comparing this machine to the jelly-mould Shinra helicopters, Cloud realised just how much of a masterpiece this airship was, as though its creator had put all his heart and soul into it. It occurred to him that man was just as great a creator as Mother Nature, just as long as they chose not to abuse their powers. The thought touched Cloud in a way indescribable to himself as well as to anyone.

The whole ship was in quite a state of trepidation, as Sephiroth had been spotted in the vicinity, and there were fears for the President's life. For this reason, civilian passengers went largely unnoticed, and so Cloud and the rest of the group were relatively safe - just as long as Red kept himself out of the way.

Cloud slept that night and was not in the least surprised to hear the voice calling to him this time, even though he had not heard it in quite a long time. Its clarity still struck him, but it no longer unsettled him, the way it had at first.

_Cloud..._

So, he answered knowingly. It is you.

The voice's tone changed. It was laced with a kind of hope, losing its austerity.

_You remember. That is good. You are beginning to recognise me._

Cloud was conscious of looking around, searching in the blackness for the owner of the voice. No, he replied soberly. I do not know you. Tell me who are. I need to know. I need to know what you want from me.

_There is no need to trouble yourself with that now_, the voice replied softly. _But let me ask you a question Cloud. Five years ago, you met Tifa again, didn't you? Why did you not get to speak to her, by yourself?_

Cloud thought hard. He thought desperately. Why hadn't he? He did not know. I don't know, he answered.

The voice seemed prepared for this reply.

_Then why don't you ask?_ it demanded, _Ask her tomorrow_.

Cloud nodded in the darkness.

Yes. I will ask her tomorrow.

Cloud had hardly made his promise when he suddenly awoke. It was the same sort of awakening he had experienced in the Shinra cells, the feeling of foreboding, of dread. There was that compulsion too, the one that had led him towards the dead guard before. Trembling now, he got out of bed, pulled on his trousers. He could feel murder in the place now, blood. And the feeling of Sephiroth. So he really was here, on the ship with them?

No sooner had Cloud got out the door than he saw Aeris standing outside her door, her face thoughtful. He gazed at her in some surprise.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked her incredulously. She turned to him, not showing any signs of surprise at his presence.

"I felt it too. He's here isn't he."

"How should I know?" Cloud replied, feeling a bit touchy about it, for some reason. He didn't like to admit that he'd felt something out of the ordinary, something that told him that someone he hated was nearby. "I just woke up and thought..."

He faltered off, feeling stupid. Aeris simply nodded, as though she had known his thoughts.

"Shall we see if it really is Sephiroth?" she asked in a near whisper. Cloud hesitated. He didn't really like the thought of that, of seeing the things he had at the Shinra Tower. There was something that told him that he was falling out of his depth here, but he could not help himself from being drawn to that irresistible force.

"There's nothing there," he said as firmly as he could. "Sephiroth can't be on this boat, it'd be ridiculous. Why would he have kept himself hidden so long?"

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out," Aeris replied with a note of finality, and without bothering to speak any more to Cloud, she turned and walked down the corridor.

"Hey, Aeris...!" Cloud found himself following her, though his senses told him better. "Aeris, what are you doing!" He reached out a hand, and caught her by the shoulder. "What the hell are you doing? You do know that Sephiroth could kill you just like that, don't you?"

"I thought you said Sephiroth wasn't round here," she replied slyly.

Cloud sighed.

"Okay, so I did think Sephiroth was out there," he admitted breathlessly. "But you can't go after him yourself Aeris."

"Why not?" She looked suddenly depressed. "Sephiroth and I are the same. It means a lot to me, that I'm not the only one."

"Yes, but Sephiroth's insane," Cloud replied wryly. "You can't trust him to see things your way."

"Who says I have a way?" she shrugged, and then her face turned pleading. "Cloud, come with me, please? You'll be able to protect me."

"All this from a potential SOLDIER candidate," Cloud retorted jokingly, but he agreed anyway.

They began to search the ship together in the silence. At first there seemed to be nothing suspicious happening, but as they travelled down to the hull of the boat, there was a noticeable air of quiet. At the end of a passageway, there was a room with double doors, with the soldiers who had once guarded it sprawled across the floor, dead.

"Well, I guess Sephiroth is beyond these doors," Cloud joked, but it came out sounding macabre. "Are you sure you want to go through with this?" he asked Aeris. She hesitated, her eyes looking over the dead guards with a timorous expression.

"Yes. I've got to know," she stated finally, after a moment.

They walked through the doors, tactfully stepping over the soldiers, and into a new corridor. Almost immediately a horrifically familiar sort of atmosphere surrounded them. As soon as Cloud felt it, he knew that Sephiroth was near them.

"He's here," he murmured, as they turned a corner into what appeared to be the operational room. "Sephiroth's here."

As they entered the chamber, the evidence of his presence became apparent. Every single one of the crew that had patrolled the area lay scattered about the floor, dead. They had been killed in much the same fashion as the people in the Shinra Headquarters. At the back of the room stood a single man, dressed in the clothes of the Captain, his back to them. Cloud moved forward, stepping in and out of the dead bodies and their contorted faces. He stopped when he got halfway toward the man, and realised, instinctively, that he was shaking.

"Sephiroth?" he called out, his voice trembling.

The man turned, slowly. Aeris gasped in horror.

It was not Sephiroth. It was the Captain that was facing them. His face was tinged in a green sort of shade, and his features were frozen as though in petrification. He looked as if he was trying to say something, but his lips were too numb to move. Then he gave a choking, rasping sound in the back of his throat and collapsed to the floor, dead.

"Why is he doing this?" Aeris cried into the stillness of the room. "Why is Sephiroth doing this?"

Cloud shook his head, shocked. He would have said he didn't know, had it not been for the sound of abrupt and searing laughter suddenly tearing through his mind, right through his brain. He buckled in fear and repulsion, the sound grating against his entire being. It was consuming his head. No, it wasn't: it was in the room, it was echoing all around him, and everyone else could hear it too.

"Sephiroth!"

From the ground that the Captain's corpse was lying on, a figure started to appear, head first, through the metal floor. Cloud blinked once or twice. It was Sephiroth, Sephiroth's form that was sliding through the metal like a ghost. And the laugh, it was exuding from his mouth, it was all real and solid as though he had been there all the time.

"Sephiroth!" Cloud stared at the stately, intimidating figure of the man he had not seen in five years. "Sephiroth, you're alive!"

Sephiroth advanced a step forward, the low cackle still vibrating in his throat. He looked the same as he always had done. Except this time, there was a sinister, evil twist to his elegant features, an element that was almost intensely frightening.

"Who are you?" He addressed Cloud only, neither seeming to see or sense Aeris behind him. "I remember you...from somewhere."

"I'm Cloud! Cloud!" Cloud was desperate for Sephiroth to remember him, though he did not know why it held such great importance to him. "Don't you remember me!"

Sephiroth laughed manically, causing everyone to fall into an immediate unease.

"Cloud. Yes, I remember you."

Cloud felt an odd sense of relief flood through him.

"Sephiroth, there is something I have to ask you," he begged, but Sephiroth took no notice.

"I have no time for your infantile blabbering," he uttered coldly. "My mother and I have a meeting with fate, with destiny. Together, we will rule the Planet. It is our throne, and our inheritance. We are the last of the Cetra."

"No!" Aeris suddenly spoke, stepping up beside Cloud. "You're not the last! I am of the Cetra too!"

Sephiroth stared at her with contempt flooding his face.

"You? There _is_ no one else_. I_ am the last."

"No, it's true," Cloud cut in. "She is from the Cetra too. You're not the only one left."

Sephiroth glared at her again, and his eyes narrowed coldly.

"Yes - you're right," he finally mused, his voice thin, brittle on the air. "She is of the Cetra. I can see it in her eyes." He addressed her with the softness of some stealthy serpent. "We seem to have met before, lady."

"No," Aeris shook her head. "I've never met you before. But I know who you are."

"Is that so?" he answered, a slow smile playing across his face.

"Yes. And I know that if we are of the same kind, we must help each other."

"Help? What could you possibly do to help me?" He looked on her with disdain, but she replied unflinchingly.

"We can help each other to find the Promised Land, as was ordained by our forefathers. And...we can create more of our own kind, in order to restore peace to this world."

"Aeris!" Cloud exclaimed, but she silenced him.

"No, it would be my duty. I'd be willing to sacrifice my life for the future of the Planet."

Sephiroth stared at her unshrinkingly, then he unexpectedly erupted into a bout of laughter that echoed around the lifeless room.

"If you're so willing to die then maybe I should just kill you now." He unsheathed his sword and pointed it menacingly towards her, still laughing. "What do you think, should I?"

Cloud listened, boiling with anger at Sephiroth's mirth. When he could bear it no longer he stepped forward and thrust aside Sephiroth's sword with his hand.

"I don't know what you're playing at Sephiroth, but I know that if you are all of the Cetra, why can't you just live together in peace and rule this Planet? Why all this bloodshed? Why don't all of you - you, Jenova, Aeris - why don't you set order and harmony through this land? Isn't that what the Cetra are for?"

Sephiroth was still laughing.

"But can't you see the humour of it?" He pointed to Aeris once again with his sword. "What makes this lowly slum-girl think that I would want to commune with her! I, who am soon to be God!" He sneered. "You just can't comprehend it, can you? You poor fools - you can never possibly hope to understand. And you..." he was addressing Aeris, "Why don't you languish in the ignorant misery that our kind reverted to all those years ago? The Planet no longer needs you anymore. The Planet has me."

He glared at Cloud, and the eyes were boring into him, like magnets, pulling him in...

_WAKE UP!_

Cloud started. His mind was in a whirl; he did not understand, but words, emotions, thoughts and nerves were singing, in conjunction: black voids, starless; no direction, no ending or beginning, just Sephiroth. He did not, could not, understand.

It was just that unholy command.

_Wake up!_

The feeling left him, and Cloud was almost astonished to realise that he was still standing there, with Sephiroth, a secretly smiling Sephiroth, in front of him.

And then he was gone, as he had come.

-oOo-

* * *

_Next: Cloud gets to question Hojo about the Ancients and Sephiroth..._


	12. PART 2 Costa del Sol

**A/N:** I'm stopping changing Aerith's name to Aeris from now on. I got tired of doing it, and it was her original name anyway, so if you have a problem, eat my shorts. ;p **Clorith**: Did I forget to write abot Cloud offering to take her up on the Highwind? Whaaat! Noooo! That was such a fave of mine! I'm sure I must've put it in this story somewhere... Oh well... /cries/  
Thanks for all the reviews and the faves so far! You guys rock my socks off! Literally! Muah! _-Ludi x_

-oOo-**

* * *

**

**: Chapter Three : Costa del Sol**

The New Continent greeted them as the Shinra boat docked in the bay of Costa del Sol. A tropical resort, it seemed that this would be the perfect place Rufus to spend his first days as President. However, this was not to be the case.

As Cloud and the others got off the boat they had to hide quickly in order to remain unseen by the President. It was easy to execute this. There were plenty of holidaymakers lazing about the port, and they had all gathered round to peek at Rufus' arrival. Rufus himself did not seem too pleased. His trip had been an entire disaster: Sephiroth had killed his men, and apparently AVALANCHE had been on board too. Cursing at a simpering Heidigger, he demanded that all these problems be rectified immediately.

"You are serving me now, not my father!" he reminded the bumptious Head of Public Safety Maintenance. "And I want you to sort out those rebels and Sephiroth at once!"

"Yes, sir. Of course. Yes..."

Rufus looked irritated as his helicopter landed to pick him up.

"Is that all you can do, give me one-word answers and fawn over me? Get out there and do your work!" He climbed into the helicopter. "I shall be over-seeing the Mount Corel Mako Reactor. Make sure you have some results by then."

Heidigger called after him eagerly as he flew away.

"Yes, sir, at once sir..." The whirr of the wings, however drowned out his words and he turned on some of the tourists beside him, shaking his fists at his fall from favour.

After this little by-play, after which Heidigger disappeared off to sulk, Cloud and the others could finally relax.

"Ah, sun, sea, sand," Tifa sighed. "What more could I want?"

"The other thing you forgot?" Barret joked slyly, digging Cloud in the ribs with his elbow. Cloud pushed him away and rubbed his stomach.

"Just 'cos you're getting none, Babs," he shot back sarcastically.

"What the hell's got into you?" Barret retorted defensively. "Here we are, in the middle of Sun City, and you're actually moanin'?"

"By the way," Aerith cut in, "where did you put that sailor suit you stole Barret?"

"I've still got it. Why?"

"Aah, you looked so cute in it!" Tifa chimed in. "Why don't you put it on again?"

Barret looked like he was on the edge of a temper tantrum.

"What the f -? Would you girls quitscrewin' around!"

"They're not screwing with you Barret," Cloud replied sardonically. "You looked exactly like a bear in a marshmallow suit."

Barret exploded.

"Yeah, that's right, laugh at the big man! Y'all just a bunch o' kids wastin' my time! Screw you guys, I'm leavin'!."

He stormed off into the Costa del Sol town, leaving the others behind him. Tifa shrugged.

"Well, I'm going to find the beach and do a spot of sunbathing. You coming, Aerith?"

Aerith shook her head.

"I think I'll pass this one up, Tifa. I'm feeling really tired. I think I'll find an inn."

"All right." Tifa turned to Cloud. "Are you coming?"

"No. I think I'll go and wander round the stores for a while," he replied.

Red shook himself.

"This heat is really getting to me," he growled. "I'm going off to find a shady spot and cool off."

They all parted to go on their various excursions. Cloud wandered into town and looked around him leisurely. Costa del Sol was an extremely beautiful place. Palm trees lined the golden cobble-stoned streets, and the white buildings were illuminated in the glittering sunlight. In the distance, the heat waves could be seen rising from the ground in blurry weaves. Every so often, groups of sun-tanned tourists would sidle past, dressed in bright, cool colours, shifting through the town like tropical flowers. The sky above was a complete and pure ultramarine. Shreds of almost indistinct cloud drifted torpidly across the great expanse of glossy sky. Cloud breathed in in quiet contentment. After all that travelling, this was definitely a welcome reward. He strolled through the air-conditioned shops and cafes, and with the money he had earned from back in Junon, he managed to buy a few items of armour and potions for further use. Then he decided to find the inn, and perhaps the others also.

It was not long before he neared the inn. Beside it was a large, impressive looking building with a spacious polished wooden porch. No one appeared to be inside it, though many visitors were eagerly taking pictures of it with their cameras. Shaking his head in bemusement, he entered the inn.

It seemed that Aerith had already booked everyone into a room, so he walked up to the top floor and into the bedroom. Aerith was lying on the nearest bed, gazing out of the uncurtained window at the row of blue that was the morning sky. Cloud sat down on the bed next to hers and spread out the items he'd bought on to the duvet.

"Any sign of Barret?" he asked her, wiping sweat from his forehead.

"Oh, he's in the bathroom, trying on that sailor suit. He told me not to tell anyone. Oh well."

Cloud examined one of the bottles of potion closely.

"Do you think this stuff is as good as your magic?" he asked her. She turned her head to face him.

"You know, I'm really not sure. You see, sometimes my powers come easily to me. Other times they don't."

"Aerith, I still can't believe what you did back there on that ship."

"Why?"

Cloud shrugged.

"I guess it's because of this screwed up world we live in."

She looked confused.

"What do you mean?"

Cloud shifted his elbows on to his knees and knotted his hands together.

"Everything now is so advanced, so technological. And yet, everyone still uses magic.It's not because magic is something that we love and respect. It's because it's a necessity. It's a necessity because it generates money and benefits the higher-ups. The sad thing about it is, we don't have any real understanding of what magic and Mako really is. It's as Sephiroth said back in Nibelheim: we've lost the ability to use it, and we have to resort to artificial manufacturing of the stuff. And yet there are still people - you and Sephiroth - who are capable of all these things that us ordinary people lost long ago. It's as though...you're a remnant from the past."

She laughed lightly.

"Believe me, I'm not that old. I'm only twenty-two." Her voice turned more despondent. "Cloud, I've been thinking...maybe I should do what Sephiroth told me to do and forget that I'm an Ancient."

He stared at her in alarm.

"Why!"

She sat up slowly and smoothed her loose hair back thoughtfully.

"I don't know. I think...I'm afraid of what I am. But it's impossible for me to forget. My mother always reminds me." She looked out of the window and closed her eyes, then opened them again. "I've always wanted to be normal, in a way. But what's always stopped me was my fear of being the last. But I'm not."

Cloud swallowed hard.

"Listen Aerith, you _are_ the last." She looked at him inquiringly and hehastened to explain."Sephiroth, he's insane. What he wants is to rule this Planet. His visions of grandeur have blinded the true purpose of his being. There is no way he'll fulfill the real aspirations of the Cetra. Therefore..." He shrugged his shoulders. "You're the last one to make sure the Cetra complete the mission."

As she listened to his words a smile appeared on her face and she seemed suddenly enlightened.

"Cloud, you're right!" she looked out of the window again. "I _must_ do this, for the sake of my ancestors. I must seek what they sought, even if it kills me!"

At that moment the door was flung open and Barret stumbled inside.

"God, it's hot here, isn't it," he complained.

"Hey, Barret," Cloud began jeeringly. "I thought moaning wasn't for 'Sun City'."

Barret shot him an evil glance.

"Oh, don't you start again Mr. Cloud-boy."

"Why, didn't your little sailor boy outfit fit you?" Cloud returned, unable to resist taunting him.

Barret looked as if he were about to burst for a split second, and then he simply just clamped his mouth shut and sat down heavily on a bed.

"I oughtta pump yah fulla lead, you know," he uttered vindictively. "Sometimes you act like a real Shinra pig, you know that?"

"Whatever you say, Barret."

Barret pulled a face and walked to the window. The frustration in his expression did not disappear.

"Just look out there! This is unbelievable!" Cloud got up and peered out on to the massive house next to the inn that Barret had been pointing at.

"Yeah." Cloud shrugged. "It's a gigantic house that all the tourists are taking pictures of. Big deal."

Barret growled furiously.

"Geez! You think you're so smart, but you're kinda stupid for a first-class member of SOLDIER!" He pointed vigorously at the building opposite them. "That mansion over there just happens to be President Shinra's summer residence! It costs a whopping 3,000,000 Gil!" He narrowed his eyes as he frowned down at the ecstatic crowds of holidaymakers. "It really drives me crazy to think that that old slimeball bought that villa to parade around to those dumb tourists. He actually had the nerve to charge people to visit it!"

There was a sort of bitter anger in his air as Barret finished his sentence and looked down momentarily at his right arm. Where his hand should have been was that hulking gun, a mass of cold, unfeeling metal. Cloud wondered, not for the first time, how Barret had ended up with this handicap, and what exactly the big man felt about it. Silently, he withdrew from the window feeling guilty.

Aerith, noticing the awkward vibes in the air, jumped up from the bed cheerfully.

"I think I'm up to that sunbathe now," she exclaimed lively. "Anyone coming?"

Barret shook his head numbly and did not revert his gaze away from the window. Cloud looked at him warily and decided that it was best if he left. He did not particularly want to stay in this uneasy situation: and besides, he suspected Barret would rather be by himself.

"I'll go with you, Aerith," he offered in a low voice. They walked quietly out of the room and out on to the main street.

"Poor Barret," Aerith sighed. "Sometimes I feel so sorry for him. He tries so hard and all he gets is this."

"Yeah. I think there's something he's not telling us," Cloud remarked, shielding his eyes from the sun.

"Probably..."Aerith replied passingly, and Cloud thought, as he watched her, that _she_ had something to hide also. In fact, he realised that most of them had anyway. They passed a homely little street corner where some of the local children were kicking a beach ball about. In a shady crook between two adjoining houses, Red was lying down, half asleep.

"Red!" Aerith called, waving to him. "Are you coming to the beach with us!"

Red opened his eye lazily but did not move otherwise.

"I don't think so. If I stay out in the heat too long, my nose goes all slobbery."

Aerith giggled.

"Okay, suit yourself!" She turned to Cloud with a sunny expression. "Isn't Red cute!"

Cloud pulled a wry face.

"I don't think he'd appreciate that remark, somehow." He gazed at her. "Aerith, until this moment, I hadn't noticed that you had such white skin."

"So?" she passed him a chagrined look. "I don't like sunbathing."

"So why are you going then?"

"Because I need to speak to Tifa."

"About what?"

She cocked her head to one side humorously.

"Oh, nothing. Just girly talk."

"Oh." Cloud replied knowingly. "I think here in real land it's called gossip. Don't worry, I know you girls can't live without it."

At that remark she bestowed him with a playful punch on the arm.

* * *

The beach was littered with people, and the sand that Cloud found himself walking on was boiling hot. The sea was a carpet of vivid turquoise blue, and it was virtually impossible to tell where the ocean stopped and the sky began. White foam lapped gently at the skirting of the sand, swishing in and out with a mellow sound that was almost drowned out by the low murmur of the tourist's voices. The persistent calling of the gulls circling the air echoed on the refreshing breeze that came wafting over the blanket of aquamarine water. 

"This is paradise," Cloud murmured, closing his eyes and failing to shut out the sunlight ."I've only seen these sorts of places on TV."

Aerith agreed with him wholeheartedly.

"Yes. I still can't even believe I'm here!" She suddenly gripped his arm and began waving frantically across the beach. "Look, there's Tifa!"

Tifa was half-sitting, half-lying on the golden sand, her elbows propping her up. She'd tied her long dark hair up into a pile on her head, and though she was facing away from them, Cloud could tell she seemed preoccupied with something. He cupped a hand to his mouth and called to her.

"Hey, Tifa!"

She did not hear him, but several other people about did. Cloud was confused.

"Why didn't she hear us?"

"She's probably thinking," Aerith replied, doubtfully.

They sauntered over toward her, but she still seemed to be unaware of their presence. Cloud came up behind her.

"Hey Tifa, lookin' good!"

Tifa apparently didn't hear him. She was looking off to her left, a distracted expression on her face. Cloud waved a hand in front of her eyes, puzzled.

"Tifa, are you all right?"

She did not take her eyes away from whatever it was that she was staring at.

"Cloud, look over there," she said quietly. "Do you see what I see?"

Both Cloud and Aerith moved their eyes to where Tifa was looking. Sitting on a chaise-long deck chair not far off was a bowed, dwarf-like figure, surrounded by tanned, bikini-clad women. Aerith gasped.

"It's Hojo!"

Tifa almost looked relieved.

"At least I know I'm not seeing things!" she breathed. "But I never knew Hojo was such a lady's man! How odd."

Cloud stood up straight and placed his hands on his hips.

"I'm going to have a word with our flirtatious doctor over there."

"What if he calls security?" Tifa looked up apprehensively.

Cloud threw aside the idea.

"Hey, he might be able to tell us where Sephiroth's headed. Come one, you two, let's check it out."

The three of them made their way across the sand to Hojo's little group. He seemed to be having a snooze, but it was impossible to tell with his dark-tinted glasses. As Cloud approached, one of the women noticed him and smiled provocatively his way.

"Hi there, cutie. You looking for something?"

"Yeah," Cloud replied brusquely, ignoring Tifa and Aerith's irritated glances. "Is that Dr. Hojo there?"

A look of disappointment filled the woman's face. "Oh," she answered stiffly. "You know the Professor?"

"That's right. Can we speak to him?"

The woman, throwing a haughty scowl in Tifa and Aerith's directions, leaned over the chair and whispered into Hojo's ear. The old man looked startled.

"What?" His raspy voice still managed to ruffle Cloud. As the woman explained the situation to the old scientist, Hojo lifted his glasses on to his forehead and shot a quick glance at Cloud and the others. When he had satisfied himself that he knew who they were, he waved to the women to go away.

"Leave us for a minute."

The women seemed annoyed at being sent off and looked at Cloud in displeasure as they trudged away with their bottles of lotion and towels in their hands. When they'd all disappeared, Hojo looked up at Cloud.

"Don't take this the wrong way," he smirked unapologetically "but we of the Shinra's Head Council are often given leave to go on little trips such as these. Quite refreshing, wouldn't you say?"

"Well, I'm glad Barret's not here to hear all this," Cloud remarked dryly. "He'd probably have shot you by now."

Hojo ignored the statement.

"And you, my dear boy, I remember you. You're Cloud." His eyes passed over Tifa and Aerith. "Ah. Tifa Lockheart, you've brought her along too. And even better - the Ancient!"

Aerith looked at him in exasperation.

"I'm Aerith Gainsborough! You could at least remember my name!"

"Oh, is that your name?" Hojo scratched his head, a smug look on his face. "And how is your mother, Aerith?"

Aerith seemed vexed.

"My mother's dead. Didn't you know?"

Hojo gazed up at her in mock surprise.

"What! Ifalna, dead! And I never even got to say goodbye!"

Tifa stooped over him threateningly.

"Just cut the crap, will you!"

Hojo glared at her and then appeared to settle down.

"So," he mused, "Dr. Gast's prize specimen, Ifalna, dead...how funny life seems!"

Aerith questioned him eagerly.

"Hojo, please tell me something. You knew my mother. Did she tell you about Jenova and Sephiroth? Did she tell you how we could join them? After all, we are all of the same blood."

Hojo began to laugh harshly.

"For an Ancient, you are very naive!" he grinned at her, "You know the answers to your questions already. You must seek inside yourself. That is all I can tell you."

Cloud spoke up.

"Where _is_ Sephiroth?"

Hojo's golden eyes flicked up into his with a malicious, intelligent clarity. He began to speak to Cloud in a soft, serious voice.

"Why are you after Sephiroth, Cloud?"

The way in which the question was spoken sent such a sense of fear and foreboding into Cloud that for a moment, he found it difficult to answer. When it finally passed, he became angry.

"Why do you think! Because he's a murderer, plain and simple!"

Hojo began to cackle once again and Cloud was instilled with such rage that he caught him by the collar of his shirt and shook him.

"What are you laughing at? What's so funny?"

Hojo glared up at him, holding his gaze with his two coldly glittering eyes.

"Have you ever felt," he began in a low, smooth whisper, "that something is calling you, Cloud? That you need to go some place?"

Cloud gritted his teeth. These words, what did they mean? Why did they sound so right?

"No!" Cloud let go of Hojo's collar, threw him back. "I don't feel anything like that! I don't know what you're talking about!"

Hojo sneered and rubbed his neck, an unconcerned air about him. He began to mutter to himself in a distracted fashion.

"...find Sephiroth...west...Mount Corel..."

Tifa looked puzzled and irritated.

"These scientists! All they do is talk to themselves all day long. He really makes me sick!"

Cloud glanced down at the decrepit figure on the chair, whose face suddenly seemed far away and lost. Cloud felt a wave of disgust toward the man wash over him. He spoke to Hojo with contempt in his voice.

"Thanks, old man." He turned to Aerith and Tifa. "I've had enough of this. Let's go back to the hotel."

* * *

The three of them trudged back up the beach and through the village. They didn't get back to the inn as quickly as they might have, for two reasons. The first was that Tifa and Aerith insisted on checking out the local boutiques and ended up spending hours looking at clothes Cloud knew they would not buy. The second was the fact that Cloud was lost, deep in his own thoughts. 

It was Hojo. Cloud could not get the man's words out of his thoughts. He did not understand at all what the scientist meant, nor what he was up to. The subject troubled him greatly. He had not known that he would have reacted in such a way to words that Aerith and Tifa would obviously have summed up as a mad scientist's gibberish. And yet, to Cloud, the words had held such a depth to him. And then, there was something else that had suddenly revealed itself to him. He realised that he needed to talk to Red.

* * *

It was high noon by the time they entered the inn again. Barret and Red were in the room, chatting. Cloud addressed them as he entered. 

"You lot had better get some sleep. We're going to Mount Corel tomorrow."

Barret raised an eyebrow at him.

"Tifa, Aerith, what is he going on about?"

Tifa shrugged.

"I'm as clueless as you are, Barret."

"Listen," Cloud threw himself on his bed gratefully. "We're heading for Mount Corel straight off tomorrow morning. I heard Hojo muttering that Sephiroth was there."

Barret sat up.

"Hojo? That creep's here!"

"Look, don't worry about it." Cloud reassured quickly. "Let's just concentrate on Sephiroth for now, and not personal vendettas."

"Are you sure he wasn't talking rubbish?" Tifa asked cynically. Cloud shook his head.

"I'm sure of it, Sephiroth's headed west."

Barret looked at him hopelessly.

"You have some weird kind of intuition, Cloud," he muttered. Cloud passed over the remark. He turned to Red.

"Red, there's something really important I have to ask you."

Red glanced up from his place on the floor.

"What is it?"

"You see," Cloud began, "I noticed you had this tattoo on the side of your left front leg."

Red looked undisturbed by the question.

"Yes, most of them are the signs of my tribe. Others are the scars of battle wounds. Why?"

"Then how do you explain this one?" Cloud bent over and pointed to Red's left leg. On it was a prominent tattoo that read 'XIII'. Red wore an expression of unconcern.

"You mean that tattoo? No, that's not one I originally had. I believe Hojo put it on me."

Cloud grimaced in satisfaction that he'd found the right answer.

"That's why he called you Red XIII, right? Do you know why he put it there?"

Red began to look troubled.

"No," he replied shortly. "No, I don't know."

Aerith spoke nervously.

"Cloud, why is it important?"

Cloud thought better of answering her question. He lay back on the bed, and recalled a not too distant memory. He remembered a man, who he'd seen in the Sector Five slums the morning he and Aerith had gone to Wall Market. At first, he'd thought he was just a normal drunk. But now, something more sinister had emerged.

On his arm had been the tattoo; 'XII.'

* * *

_Next: The group learn a bit more about the mysterious Barret's past..._


	13. PART 2 Corel

**: Chapter Four : Corel**

The delicious sun and sea of Costa del Sol was left far behind early the next morning as the five set off west for Mount Corel. From the tropical climate of the sandy beaches the group was now welcomed with the soaring mountain ranges that lay at the heart of the New Continent. A low, misty fog rested over the majestic peaks that towered to the very roof of the heavens, and the large tawny mountain birds circled the crests above their heads.

"What if we pass through the mountains and find there's no where to stay afterward?" Tifa asked as they began to trudge through the grit paths that had been worn down by the passing hikers throughout the ages. "I don't particularly fancy wearing myself out and then sleeping out in the cold."

"I wouldn't worry," Barret replied, panting as they scaled a number of mossy boulders. "There's a village on the other side of this mountain. It's called Corel."

The others, eager for the comfort of a warm bed in Corel, hastened their aching feet across the craggy ranges. That was not to say that Mount Corel was not an awe-inspiring location. As the day wore on, the sun seemed to rest on the summit of the highest peak, and the almost dense scattering of rich, green firs released an unmistakable waft of pine onto the air. However, the thinning of oxygen soon got to Cloud and his companions, and they were thankful to finally get to the top and eventually climb down to the other side.

However, their admiration of the scenery was short-lived. The other side of Mount Corel was a great disappointment compared to the first. A great Mako Reactor had been planted amongst the gritty rock-faces and the aesthetic nature of the surrounding landscape. The Reactor's metal structure had an air of indifference, and the bitter gleam of the electric neon lights and the rigid bodies of the Shinra guards all added to its stark contrast with the picturesque setting around it.

Aerith stared round in dismay.

"How horrible! How could anyone even think of destroying such a beautiful place with this awful machine!"

After this, Cloud seemed to detect a marked change in Barret's temper: he said nothing at all to the others, and wore a sulky expression on his face.

* * *

After trekking past the daunting Mako Reactor, the downward trail gave way to many winding and confusing threads of railway tracks. Several old abandoned steam engine cargo carriages stood stationary on the tracks, some still chock-full of age-old coal. A thick layer of dust lay on the rotting sleepers, and every so often a gust of wind would send up a burst of stifling soot clouds. 

"What happened here?" Tifa muttered, taken aback at the derelict ruins of the once obviously thriving railroad.

"It would appear that the village of Corel was once a coal mining town," replied Red dryly.

Barret set his jaw and scowled, but said nothing.

They followed the tracks over an aqueduct that stretched out over a murky, polluted lake and further onto aswinging, swaying rope bridge. The now harsh wind was rocking the dubious structure from side to side, emitting a resonant creaking noise. Tifa looked hesitant.

"Is it safe, do you think?" she stammered.

Cloud protruded a foot cautiously on to the first wooden plank of the overpass. It groaned under his weight. He stood back on to the gravel.

"It's isn't, is it," Aerith cut in, her voice shaky.

"Well, there's no other way of getting across," Red stated.

"Red's right," Cloud decided. "We're going to have to cross it anyway."

Tifa looked uncooperative.

"Well, I'm not going first!"

There was a silence as each one of them waited for a volunteer. Finally, Barret stood forward and on to the first plank.

"God, you're such a bunch of babies! Looks like I'm gonna have to go first then, doesn't it!"

"Barret, are you sure...?" Cloud intervened, but Barret snapped at him angrily.

"'Course I'm sure! If this thing can carry me, it can sure as hell carry you guys!"

They began to travel painstakingly across the bridge, Barret in the lead, Cloud covering behind, pushing the reluctant girls ahead. As they got to the end of the bridge, Cloud wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Whew! We made it!"

Barret turned to the others, his face tense. He pointed out to a thin trail of smoke between a deep gorge in the valley. It seemed they had reached the base of Mount Corel.

"Corel village is over there," he informed them in a strained voice. He began to walk ahead, leaving the others standing behind, baffled, behind him.

"What's got into him?" Aerith asked, anxiously. Tifa sighed and shook her head.

"He always gets like this. You just get used to it." She slowly began to cheer up. "Well, at least we can all rest when we get to Corel. I'm starved!"

* * *

However, Tifa's expectations of the village were not to be fulfilled. As the group entered the so-called town, they saw that it was nothing more a cluster of pitched up tents, ruined buildings and piles of metal and rubble littering a dull, grainy landscape. The local residents, dressed in muddy, gritty caps and mining uniforms stumbled about with cartels full of worthless rubble. There was a hush as the party entered the place. A grisly old man sat on a crumbling stool outside his tent, glaring at the five with vacant blue eyes. Tifa gazed round in disappointment. 

"What happened here? Why is this place like this?"

Barret advanced a single step forward. From a tent in the middle of the ruins, a group of bulky looking men were shouldering towards them menacingly. Cloud looked at Barret in alarm.

"Barret...?"

The large man remained silent, his lower jaw protruding, a strangely stolid countenance moulded on to his lined features. Slowly, he began to walk forwards towards the men. The others watched on in silence, surprised and puzzled. A ripple of unrest spread through the place as tangible as a sigh.

"Well look who it is!"

Cloud noticed that many of the people had come out of their abodes to watch the arrival of Barret. He could hear the murmured whisperings of them as Barret levelled with the men. They said nothing to each other; besides, the fury of the men's faces said it all. Barret, noting the looks, hung his head in something Cloud read as complete and total shame. He held his breath. What was going on?

Someone at the back of the group of men began to move forward. A wave of disturbance and then quiet rustled through the locals like an autumn wind. As the man got to the front of the crowd, he glared at Barret for a moment in pure hatred - then, unexpectedly, he punched his fist right into the side of Barret's face. Barret did not even attempt to wipe his bleeding nose. He stood, motionless, with his eyes on the ground. The man who had punched him suddenly spoke.

"Why're you back here?" he yelled at Barret. "Where did you find the bloody balls to come back here!"

Barret's mouth moved slightly, and an abashed, inaudible voice came out.

"I'm sorry."

The man turned back to the other men mockingly.

"Lissen to him! 'Sorry' he says!" There was an indignant stirring amongst the villagers and the man turned back to Barret furiously. "Just look at this place! Just look at Corel, Barret, your hometown!" He spread his arm out over the pitiful wreck of a village. "It's your fault our town turned into this rubbish heap! You know what we have to do to make a livin'? Do you have any idea!"

Barret still said nothing, nor did he move. The man kicked violently into the dust with his right foot, the sole of his worn boot flicking loose grime into the air.

"We have to scrabble through this trash, that's what!" he shouted, his voice full of pain. "Reduced to being scavengers, the lowest of the low!" He stepped back in disgust, never taking his eyes off Barret. "You know what Barret, we don't want you here no more! You're despicable!"

He turned back to the group, looked over his shoulder resentfully.

"Just get outta my sight, will ya?"

The group of men began to disperse, each throwing scornful looks in Barret's direction. Barret remained just as ever, his head facing the ground. Aerith, Tifa and Red passed each other bewildered glances, as the eavesdropping locals began to disappear back into their tents. Cloud, breathing in more freely, walked slowly up to Barret and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay, man," he comforted softly, but Barret shook his hand away.

"Look, just leave it, okay? This is all my fault, the fellas are right." He shook his head sorrowfully. "I got what I deserved."

He began to walk off by himself. Cloud, not knowing what to do, signalled for the others to follow him. They began to trail Barret at a respectful distance, right through the group of muddy tents. Barret seemed to be aware of them following him, but he didn't tell them to stop, he just simply walked on. Presently, he led them straight to the only occupied building in the place. A corrugated metal sign that read 'HOTEL' had fallen from its place above the doorframe and on to the dusty floor. Barret walked right on in. Cloud and the others followed wordlessly.

An old, scraggy man was sitting at a roughened wood desk, sleepy-eyed. His face suddenly came alive with recognition as he watched the new visitors enter. His lips pursed up into an angry, thin line; Barret, however, took no notice.

"I want a room for five, old man," he ordered gruffly. The man said nothing, but charged Barret and handed him a rusty key. Barret grabbed it rudely.

"Thanks a lot," he replied, with an intonation that implied exactly the opposite. The old man remained silent once again and ignored Barret completely.

The others followed Barret through a grubby, cobwebbed corridor and then into the hotel room. As expected, it left much to be desired for. Every single thing in the room was so dusty the place didn't look as if it had been occupied in years. The walls had deep, grooving cracks running through them, and a pile of fallen plaster from the decaying ceiling had been swept into a corner and left there. The four sat down on the edge of the bed, waiting patiently for Barret to decide to speak. The larger man stood in the middle of the room, looking round him pensively. Then, he finally chose to speak.

"This place sure has changed. I remember, it used to be bustlin' with people, all year round. Some hotel this is now."

"What happened?" Cloud asked gently. Barret shut his mouth tight and wiped the blood from his nose slowly. He lowered his head and took in a deep breath. Then he sat down on the bed with a jerk.

"You guessed right when you said Corel was a mining town," he sighed, not looking at any of them. "Corel's always been a mining town. It's the village's tradition. Our ancestors have been mining for centuries! But then, stupid ol' me had to go and ruin everything.

"One day, that woman, Scarlet, and a band of Shinra soldiers came to Corel. They had a great new proposition to make. They wanted us to leave our old way of livin' behind and help them build a new Mako Reactor in the nearby Mount Corel. We were all thrilled. Everyone, that is, except for my best mate, Dyne."

Barret shifted a foot guiltily on the sooty floor, sending a few wafts of the grit into the air before he continued.

"I tried to reason with him, and so did the Head Man of Corel. I told him that no one uses coal nowadays - everything's Mako fuelled. By building a Mako Reactor, we could make more money for Corel. Dyne was reluctant, but in the end, he agreed."

Barret looked up honestly at them.

"At first, I thought it was all for the good of the village. But now, I realise it was all selfishness. I just wanted to get rich."

Tifa leaned forward inquiringly.

"So how did the place end up like this?"

Barret sighed sadly and shook his head.

"Everything went all right for a couple of years. Until..." His face suddenly clouded over with a wave of pure anger and hatred, "...until those evil Shinra monsters took away everything!" For a moment he could not speak for his bitterness, and then he managed to continue through clenched teeth. "One day, the Mako Reactor suffered a small explosion. It was nothing bad, but the Shinra blamed it on a terrorist attack. They blamed it on the poor, innocent people of Corel! And of course, the Shinra had to exact their revenge! And what they did was..."

Barret slammed his fist into the rock hard mattress.

"They burnt Corel! They burnt the entire village!"

The others gazed on in silence, too shocked for words. When Barret next spoke, his voice was choked.

"Nearly everyone died that day. Hardly anyone survived. My wife, Myrna...Dyne...his wife, Eleanor...they were all murdered. Only Marlene and I escaped, with a handful of others. Marlene...was Dyne's daughter. I swore I'd take care of her, for his sake."

Aerith looked touched.

"Oh, Barret...that's so good of you!"

Instead of looking comforted, Barret began to look angry again.

"You just don't get it, do you! I'm the one to blame for everything, I was the one who wanted that dumb Mako Reactor, I was the one who was damn selfish!" He glared round at them with flashing eyes. "Even if I have given Marlene a home, that still doesn't change anything! I still messed up an' her parents are still dead! I'm still guilty of everythin'!"

He got up like a shot and stormed out of the room in a bitter rage, slamming the door behind him and sending a shower of plaster down into the middle of the room. Aerith looked after him in dismay.

"Oh dear...poor Barret!"

Red, who'd been lying on the bed next to her, shook his head.

"There are some things you'd never guess about some people."

Cloud nodded his head vigorously.

"You hit the nail on the head there, Red."

Tifa yawned suddenly, stretched herself, and ripped off her boots viciously.

"Well, this is no five-star hotel, but I'm going to sleep now and that's the end of it." She pulled back the duvet and jumped in. "Goodnight!"

Aerith looked worried.

"What about Barret?"

"Oh, he'll come back when he's good and ready," Tifa replied, cheerfully. "He just needs to cool off, that's all."

"I have a feeling," Red cut in solemnly, "that this is going to take a long time for him to cool off about."

"How right you always are!" Cloud sighed, as he got into bed also and pulled the coarse bed covers over him. "Well, I guess we've got to rest."

"And how right _you_ always are," Tifa intervened softly. Cloud grinned at her and turned on to his back. There was something still bothering him.

What about Barret's lost hand?

-oOo-

* * *

Next morning, Barret woke them all up roughly and refused to let them lie in. 

"Wake up you guys! We gotta get outta here! I'm not stayin' in this place any longer!"

Dragged out of bed in the early morning, the others generally felt extremely bad-tempered, all except for Aerith, who never let such things get the better of her. As they stumbled, half asleep, half awake, through a mostly slumbering Corel, they were suddenly jolted into life by the persistent callings of a man at a rusty stand nearby.

"Climb the Ropeway to the Gold Saucer and do it today! No costs! Pay at the Gold Saucer entrance! Climb the Ropeway for fun, thrills and spills!"

Barret, who'd been walking past with an aura of wrath about him, suddenly stopped and shouted at the man.

"Look, would you shut up! People round here are tryin' to sleep, in case you hadn't noticed!"

"Yeah, and it's a pity it isn't us lot!" Tifa muttered under her breath.

The man, who'd been staring in fright at Barret, astonished at his sudden outburst, stammered out his excuses.

"But sir...the Ropeway's the only business Corel gets nowadays!" He pointed to a large monorail tram that was off to his right. "I've gotta do my job, ain't I!"

Aerith peered after the rails that the monorail ran along. In the distance was a large towering metal structure, painted in gilt that gleamed in the misty morning sun.

"Is that the Gold Saucer?" she inquired of the man. He nodded eagerly.

"Yup, it's owned by the great entrepreneur, Dio. It's a casino-amusement park. See, it's so big, it reaches sky!" He made a flourish with his arm in the direction of the golden building. "I swear, once you go there, you won't want to leave!"

Aerith gave a cry of delight.

"Oh! This is exactly what I need! An amusement park!" She turned to Cloud beseechingly. "Oh Cloud, please let's go up the Ropeway! Please!"

Cloud scratched his head reluctantly.

"Well...it depends on much it'll cost. Besides, we're meant to be looking for Sephiroth."

Aerith gave him an injured look.

"But, Cloud, let's stop being so serious! Let's have some fun instead. Maybe Sephiroth went up there as well!"

Barret scoffed at her.

"_What_? As if that madman would want to waste time on dumb roller-coaster rides!"

Aerith ignored him and looked pleadingly into Cloud's eyes.

"Cloud, _please_!"

Cloud relented.

"Oh, all right." The man earnestly handed him out with five brochures. "Aerith, I don't know why I'm doing this."

"You won't regret it!" the man put in cheerfully and he ushered them into the tram. "Have a great time!" he finished, as they all sat down on their seats. Shutting the door behind them, the sound of a whistle blew and the monorail began to jolt into life. Slowly they began to move upward. Aerith gazed out of the window in excitement as the ground began to move away from them.

"Oh, this is so exciting!" she enthused.

Cloud remained quiet. He leaned his elbow on the window ledge and looked out on to the landscape that was slowly sliding away from them. He was not so sure that he shared Aerith's enthusiasm.

Because he had a foreboding about going up to this Gold Saucer.

He had a feeling he might do something he'd regret later.

-oOo-

* * *

_Next: The team's trip to the Gold Saucer doesn't turn out to be as fun as they thought it would be... Naturally. And there's a new addition to the team! ;)_


	14. PART 2 The Gold Saucer

**: Chapter Five : The Gold Saucer**

As the carriage chugged further away from the earth and up into the sky, the atmosphere darkened. Fireworks glittered in an apparently black night sky, and balloons of all different hues were flittering against the wind. Red looked out in perplexity.

"Why's it so dark? It was early morning when we left."

"Computer simulation," Tifa explained, matter-of-factly. "It looks so real, doesn't it."

"It sure does," Cloud agreed, awed by the glistening lights and the soaring, coloured trails left by the firework rockets. They lit up the ebony sky with iridescent flares, sending flashing reflections into the monorail tram. Before long, the gilt-coloured form the Gold Saucer came into sight, drawing closer to the car. As they drew closer to the entrance through which the Ropeway led, the boisterous strains of band music came flooding into their ears. They passed straight through a psychedelic rainbow arc and into a long, dark tunnel, and then out again into a large hallway. The carriage crept to the end of the Ropeway and then shuddered to a halt. The door slid open automatically, allowing its passengers to walk out into the Gold Saucer hall.

The five stepped out on to the platform and stared round in wonderment.

"This is amazing!" Aerith exclaimed as they got lost in the crowds of exuberant people and the flocks of vibrant, multicoloured balloons floating over their heads. The whole room had the look of a child's playground. Miniature trees and gingerbread houses painted in the most brilliant colours lay about, purely for decoration. Paid actors dressed up as bloated Chocobos bounded around, promoting the various rides and excursions in silly voices. Little children were running around restlessly, waiting for their parents to pay the entrance-fee. A woman was positioned at the paying counter, dressed in a spruce navy and gold uniform, smiling a wide, red smile at her customers.

"Exploitin' the innocent people, that's what I call this!" Barret moaned vindictively.

"That's not true!" Aerith rebuked him."People come here to have a good time, to enjoy themselves! The world has too few places like this!"

"Well, I bet it's only the rich people who come here!" Barret grumbled. Aerith bit her lower lip.

"Barret, you're impossible!"

They queued up in front of the counter and were made to wait several minutes before the other customers had gone through. Eventually, they got to the smiling woman.

"Yes sir?" she addressed Cloud in a light, airy voice.

"Uh...how much would it be for all of us?"

"Would you be a group?" the woman asked, but did not even wait for an answer to her own question "For groups it costs 3000 Gil. Or, alternatively, you could get a lifetime pass. This allows free access to the Gold Saucer at any time that is convenient for you."

"How much does that cost?" Cloud inquired.

The beam did not leave the woman's face. It was as though she had been specially trained to have it there.

"Lifetime passes cost 300,000 Gil."

"I told you only rich toffs come here," Barret commented loudly, only to be met by a jab in the ribs by Tifa. The woman threw him a fleeting scowl and then turned back to Cloud.

"So what'll it be?"

"Well, there's no way we can afford 300,000 Gil," he replied. "So I guess we'll just get the day pass."

The woman received the money and handed them each a pass. Then she gave Cloud a swipe card.

"Let me explain how the Gold Saucer works. The maximum amount you can spend on games and other various entertainment here is 1000 Gil. Depending on how well you play in certain games, you will receive credits called GP. If you receive any GP, swipe this card into the provided scanner. The card will be charged up, and the GP can be exchanged for prizes in the Wonder Square. Incidentally, if you choose not to exchange for prizes, you can come again another time and change later, so remember to keep your card safe at all times.

"There is also another square called the Battle Square. This section has it's own credit system called BP credits. However, these become invalid once the Battle Square is left. Can you remember all that?"

"Yep," Cloud nodded.

"Okay, enjoy yourselves."

They followed the crowds through to the next room, which was the meeting point. From this room seven gates led to the various squares inside the Gold Saucer: Wonder, Round, Event, Speed, Ghost, Battle, Chocobo. In the middle of the room was a computerised screen monitor that was the information centre system. The five of them gathered round together in front of the screen.

"What does it say?" Red asked, standing on his hind legs to get a better look. Cloud ran his finger along the sensors to receive a description of each of the square's events.

"Let's see. It says here there are seven parts to the Gold Saucer." He began to read out aloud. "The Wonder Square: an amusement arcade and GP exchange. Round Square: gondola tour of the Gold Saucer. Event Square: watch and participate in a special pantomime. Speed Square: take part in a virtual reality roller-coaster shoot-em-up ride (That sounds like fun!). Ghost Square: spooky hotel for the family. Chocobo Square: bet on your favourite Chocobo at the Chocobo races. Battle Square: test your skills against formidable foe in the Battle Arena."

Tifa let out a breath.

"Wow - there sure is a lot to do here!"

Cloud grinned.

"I'll say. I've just got to go to that Speed Square. Guess I'll check out Wonder and Battle too. I need some sword practice."

"I want to look at the Chocobos," Tifa said. "They're so cute!"

"Great, let's go!" Aerith exclaimed, then she turned to Barret. "Are you coming, Barret?"

Barret pulled a face.

"I'm not havin' nothin' to do with it!"

"But Barret, we're meant to be having fun..."

"Then go have your fun!" he exploded. "I'm not in the mood to go muckin' around!"

He turned his back on them, folding his arms sullenly. Aerith walked up behind him and spoke cheerfully to him.

"Oh? You're still mad about Corel? Well, that's just too bad."

He shut her out completely and Aerith walked back to the others jovially. Tifa whispered doubtfully to her.

"Aerith...don't you think that was a bit harsh?"

"No way!" she cried. "He needs cheering up!"

Tifa still looked unconvinced.

"Well...if you say so."

"I've decided," Cloud broke in, still staring at the information board. "I'm going to the amusement arcades first."

"I'll go with Tifa," Red cut in. "I don't really mind where I go."

"Where shall we meet up?" Tifa asked. "It's such a big place, we might never find each other again."

"Well..."Cloud glanced up at the digital clock on the screen. "Let's wander round for three hours and then meet up at the Battle Square."

"Hey, good idea!" Tifa grinned wickedly. "I'd love to see you test your strength. Bet you'd beat everyone there!"

"Well, that's settled then," Red finished. "The Battle Square, in three hours time."

"Right!" Aerith turned round to look for Barret, but he'd disappeared. "Where's Barret?"

Tifa shrugged.

"Who cares? He's such a misery anyway. I'm going." She and Red went through the Chocobo Square gate and disappeared in a horde of other people. Aerith turned to Cloud.

"Hey, Cloud, can I come with you?"

"Sure," he replied. "Do you mind going to the arcades first?"

"Not at all," she answered, good-naturedly.

* * *

They walked together toward the Wonder Square gate. This led straight to the Wonder Square hallway, which was equipped with all the latest virtual reality gadgets. A Mako-powered billboard advertised a new attraction coming soon, and moving spotlights lit up the glass and chrome constructions in radiant shades. The actual amusement arcade was through an airy corridor. A dark room lit up with flashing neon lights, it was filled with people who were avidly playing at the various machines. The tumultuous tinny sounds emitted from the computers raged round the square, one over another, blaring so much so that it was hard to hear oneself think. 

"What do we play on first?" Aerith called over the din.

"Hey look!" Cloud pointed at a machine. "It's a motorbike sim!"

"You love motorbikes, don't you," Aerith stated, grinning at him. He looked at her in surprise.

"Don't tell me you hadn't noticed, Aerith!"

"Of course I'd noticed!" She looked strangely offended. "Go on, try it out. I'll wait for you here."

Cloud jumped on to the seat of the motorbike and pulled the virtual reality glasses over his eyes.

"Hey, Aerith, don't even bother waiting up for me!"

Tutting impatiently, Aerith helped him to get the money through the slot, and waited quietly for him until he had finished.

"Hey!" Cloud cried as he got off the seat. "I won 200 GP!"

Aerith walked over to take a look.

"You must be really good at this."

"But of course!" Cloud grinned as he swiped the card through the machine's scanner. "Wow, what a great start to the arcades! 200 GP!"

The time seemed to flash by without a trace, and soon it was time to find the others. As they travelled through to the Wonder Square hallway towards the Battle Square, they were suddenly stopped.

"Have your fortunes told here at the Wonder Square! Only five Gil each fortune! Happy fortunes, love matches, destinies! Fortunes to be told!"

Cloud and Aerith turned to see who was calling out. A large, white toy mog was standing by the entrance, but it was not him who'd been shouting. On his head was sitting a tiny black cat, dressed in miniature clothes with a megaphone in his hand. It was he who'd been calling out in a comical, high-pitched voice.

"Walk past, just ignore him," Cloud muttered to Aerith, but the strange cat on the mog had noticed them, and for some reason, had decided to single them out.

"Hey, you guys, over there!"

Cloud and Aerith tried to hurry past, but the mog suddenly bounded over and into their path. Cloud looked up angrily at the cat.

"Hey! We don't want any stupid fortunes!"

The cat looked upset.

"Oh please! It's only five Gil. And the fortunes are as genuine as you'll get them. Please?"

There was something disarming about the cat's small white face and Mongoloid eyes. Cloud found himself giving, although rather begrudgingly.

"Okay then, cat. But you'd better make this good."

"Right." The cat quickly pocketed the five Gil coin and then proceeded to sit down on the mog's head, quite still, with his legs crossed. After about ten seconds or so, he began to go into a trance-like state and began to rock himself back and forth. The mog produced a piece of paper and pen from a large pouch on it's ample belly and handed it to the cat, who began to scribble frantically on the sheet. Then, he seemed to wake up from his rapture, and handed Cloud the slip.

Looking down at it dubiously, he read it out loud.

" 'I can guess your favourite colour. It's blue.' _What_? Some fortune!"

The cat looked flustered. He grabbed at the slip of paper and read it again.

"Whoops! Did I write that? Sorry. Let me go again."

"No, I really don't think..." Cloud began, but the cat insisted.

"It's free of charge!" and before anyone could stop him, he'd begun to go through the whole procedure all over again. He handed the finished fortune to Cloud. Unfolding the not skeptically, Cloud began to read it once again.

" 'Tomorrow, your wife will be bereaved,'" Cloud looked up at the now extremely embarrassed cat. "Hey, do I look like I'm married!"

The cat began to apologise profusely.

"I'm sorry! Please, give me one more chance! This time, I'll get it right, I promise!"

Once again, he went into his supposed trance and produced one of his nonsensical strips of paper. Cloud opened it and looked at it cynically, expecting the usual fraudulent rubbish.

"This had better have been worth my while," Cloud warned, before reading the unsightly script. " 'You will find what you seek, but you will lose something dear to you.'"

Cloud stared at the writing incredulously, unsure of whether to believe it or not. The cat looked genuinely amazed.

"Oh my God! Did I really get that! I've never read a fortune like that one before!"

Aerith read the paper over carefully once or twice.

"Do you think it could be true, Cloud?" she asked, quietly. Cloud screwed up his face uncertainly.

"It sure sounds...drastic."

The cat, however, seemed elated by it.

"This is great! My first proper fortune!" he looked at the two with an exuberant expression. "I'm sorry, but I'm coming with you guys! I've got to find out whether this all turns out as I've predicted!"

Cloud put his hands up quickly.

"Hey, not so fast...!"

The cat turned serious.

"I'm sorry, but there's no way you're going to stop me! I'm coming with you whether you say no or not!"

Cloud was still reluctant.

"Well...I'm not sure..."

"Hey, what I could possibly do to offend you? I'm just a harmless cat!"

"Who tells bad fortunes," Aerith put in sarcastically, but the cat pretended not to hear.

"So how about it? My name's Cait Sith - I'm a fortune-telling toy cat." Both Cait Sith and the mog held out their arms to shake hands. Feeling rather bewildered, Cloud and Aerith complied and introduced themselves. Then the cat, mog all, followed them through the Speed Square entrance and into the large plaza. Cait Sith spent most of the time talking on and on about himself and his mog, that he had apparently magically reanimated. Fortunately or otherwise, he was cut off by someone advancing toward their group and addressing them.

"Having a good time, my friends?"

A burly, muscular man with long, shoulder-length hair and a walrus moustache was speaking. He was wearing a flashy tie with a tawdry suit, and passed Cloud an overtly approving look.

"And how are you finding the Gold Saucer, my boy? Good?"

Cloud tried to hide his repulsion aimed toward the man.

"And who might you be?"

The man laughed loudly in a booming tone.

"Oh, I do like a boy with spirit!" he grinned at Cloud. "The name's Dio, my boy, and I'm the owner of the Gold Saucer. My good friend, Rufus Shinra, persuaded me to build this theme park when he was still vice president! I'm forever indebted to him, you know, boy? And what's your name, boy?"

"My name's Cloud," he answered in repugnance. "And I'm not 'your boy.'"

Dio failed to take offence.

"You know, I'm curious. Earlier on, I saw this young boy enter the park. I'd say he was about your age. Strange boy, he was. He had a long, black cloak and bright Mako eyes just like you."

"Sephiroth!" Cloud gasped. Dio looked interested.

"Oh? So you know about him, do you?"

"Where'd he go?" Cloud demanded. Dio suddenly turned from buoyant to annoyed.

"I don't know. He left."

Cloud turned to Aerith.

"Oh great! We've lost him!"

"I told you he'd come up here," Aerith said slyly.

"Well, he didn't look like he was having fun," Dio interrupted flippantly. "Anyhow, I suppose I'd better leave you to enjoy yourselves. Have a nice time, Cloud."

He walked off in the direction of the Round Square. Cloud stared after him in distaste.

"Oh man," he breathed.

"That Dio," Cait Sith remarked, "he definitely bats for the other team!"

"Tell me about it," Cloud rolled his eyes. "He thought I was into Sephiroth or something."

Aerith stared at him in horror.

"I hope not!"

Cloud returned her a look of offence, rather than anger.

"Hey, what do you take me for!"

Aerith suddenly burst into laughter.

"Cloud, I didn't mean anything!" she began to walk off. "Hey, let's go on to the Speed Roller-Coaster! I'm sure Tifa and Red won't mind if we're a bit late."

After having a ride on the Speed Roller-Coaster, they managed to clock up enough points to win a special prize. The woman at the collection point handed Cloud a small package of glittering dust.

"What the hell does this do?" Cloud cried, ready to ask for his money back. The woman explained to him in an air of forbearance.

"It's called stardust. When you sprinkle it on an enemy, it uses powerful magic. But I'd use it wisely, because it's very rare. The only time it's usually used is on the higher-class enemies at the Battle Square."

Realising the dust could come in useful during the near future, Cloud pocketed the pouch. After that, the three went back to the Wonder Square to play more arcades, and then exchanged their copious amounts of GP for equally amounts of Gil. Then, Cloud and Aerith realised that the three hours were definitely up.

"Hell, we'd better get down to the Battle Square. The others will be waiting for us."

They travelled down the Battle Square. Red and Tifa were already standing outside the large Battle Plaza.

"We were wondering whether you'd ever come!" Tifa greeted, and immediately noticed Cait Sith "Who's this?"

Cait Sith abruptly gave a little bow on top of the mog's head.

"Cait Sith, fortune-teller. Charmed to meet you."

Cloud introduced the others to the cat.

"Cait Sith, this is Tifa and this is Red XIII. We've got someone else in our party - Barret - but he's in a bit of a mood at the moment."

Tifa placed her hands on the hips and shifted her weight to one side.

"Oh, that man! Let's just get on with enjoying ourselves, shall we?"

They all seemed to agree on the proposal and they climbed the great staircase up to the Battle Arena. As they got to the top, something peculiar seemed to greet them. A Shinra security guard was stumbling forward from the arena doors, moaning in pain and clutching at his stomach.

"What's wrong with that man?" Aerith asked, perplexed. Cloud began to move forward to assist the man, but the guard suddenly let out an agonised cry and simply tumbled down on to the floor. Stupefied, Cloud bent over and rolled the man on to his side. There was a bullet wound to his chest. As the others gathered round in horror, Cloud questioned the man in an urgent voice.

"What happened here? What's going on!"

The guard opened his mouth, but nothing came out but a choking strangled sound. Then the man closed his eyes and his head lolled backward. Cloud shook his head hopelessly.

"Dead."

"But who'd shoot him?" Cait Sith intervened, shocked. The others looked at each other fearfully, wordless. Barret had a gun. Barret had been full of bitter remorse not long ago.

But was Barret a cold-blooded killer?

Cloud stood up.

"We've got to check this out."

The five rushed into the Battle Arena.

Not a sound was to be heard as they entered. The previously bustling place was now filled with bleeding corpses, all riddled with gunshot wounds to various parts of their bodies. Blood was splattered everywhere on the shiny, marble floors and ceiling.

"This is terrible!" Tifa exclaimed. "Who's done this!"

"Well, Sephiroth couldn't have done this. He uses a sword." Cloud lowered his voice. "And I find it hard to believe Barret did either."

"Don't you think Sephiroth just might have used a gun to kill these people so that people wouldn't think it was him?" Red suggested skeptically.

Cloud shook his head with certainty.

"No. Sephiroth would never use a gun. Let's just put it this way. He's a war hero. His sword is his pride and joy. That sort of thing means a lot to people like Sephiroth."

A movement at the further end of the room startled him. The woman at the reception desk was trying to sit up, unsuccessfully. She was drenched in blood. Cloud ran to her and held her stained hand.

"What happened?" he begged from her. "Who did this to you!"

The woman coughed, spilling blood on to her white desk.

"A man came..." she spluttered roughly, "...he shot all the people...I begged him to stop..." She faltered off, gasping for breath. Cloud gripped her hand tightly, trying not to lose her attention.

"What did he look like, tell me!"

The woman, however, slumped forward on to the desk again, spent. Cloud released her hand, choked and furious. He turned: and saw Dio standing in the doorway, complete with a band of Shinra guards. Obviously horrified at what he saw, he gazed at Cloud with a sudden sternness.

"Well, well, my boy, I must say I'm very disappointed in you."

"Wait!" Cloud cried indignantly. "We didn't do anything! They were all dead when we got here!"

One of the Shinra personnel pointed an upbraiding finger at the group.

"I know them, Dio! They're from that rebel group, AVALANCHE!"

Dio drew himself straight, his face taut with wrath.

"I'm afraid," he began, in a low, dignified voice, "that I'm going to have to arrest you all for the murder of these innocent people."

"Please!" Tifa cried wildly. "We've done nothing! It wasn't us...!"

"Sorry," Dio cut in coldly, "but you're wanted terrorists." He motioned to the guards. "Arrest them!"

There was nowhere to run or hide. The guards closed in on the five, dragging Cloud forward, handcuffing him with an electronic tag device. Taunting and cackling the guards shoved him out to a side door. Dio walked up to him.

"You're making a big mistake," Cloud spat at him vehemently. Dio simply shook his head gravely.

"I must say, I'm very disappointed in my, boy. Very disappointed." He glared round at the five, contempt complete on his face. "You will pay for your crimes down below! Take them away!"

With this last instruction, Dio said no more and turned his back on them, leaving them to be taken 'down below'.

-oOo-

* * *

_Next: An old acquaintance from Barret's past makes an appearance..._


	15. PART 2 Know Thy Friend, Know Thy Enemy

**: Chapter Six : Know Thy Friend, Know Thy Enemy**

It was acold and foreboding steel lift that led the five of them 'down below'. The leering Shinra guards trussed them to curious clamp-like apparatuses on the walls of the lift, amid well-placed kicks and insults. One of them bound Aerith's wrists so tightly behind her back that it caused her tocry out loud in pain.

"Hey!" Cloud wrestled savagely with the agonising metal clamps. "Leave her alone!"

The guards only sniggered. Fastening Aerith's hands back even tighter, one of them slammed Cloud's stomach with the butt of his rifle.Cloud slumped forward in agony, sputtering and cursing under his breath at his captors. After this, no one else dared to speak. The guards, however, took every opportunity to inundate them with abuse, both verbal and physical. The only person they left well alone was Red, who they obviously suspected would attack them if provoked.

It was a long way to get 'down below'. Cloud's body began to ache from the awkward position of being tied up to the wall. His shoulders and upper arms were sore, and all about his middle lingered a dull throb. He did not even risk looking up at the others. Even looks or gestures of encouragement would ensure a pummelling from the guards.

Eventually, the elevator settled at the bottom with a convulsion that made Cloud's stomach turn. The stout steel doors slithered open, and the metal clamps opened automatically. The prisoners fell forward at the unexpected movement, rubbing their tender wrists painfully. The guards thrust them out of the lift gruffly. They all landed on a dry, rocky ground that scorched their faces with an unbearable heat.

"Go and serve your punishments in the wilderness!" the guards jeered, and they disappeared back into the elevator, snickering at the wretched captives on the ground. Cloud raised his head slowly as he heard the lift slide out of sight, but all he could see before him was the same rocky, dusty plain of ochre-tinted landscape. Groaning, he pulled himself up off the ground and clutched his aching stomach. The others tottered up from the floor also, and Tifa put her hand to Cloud's abdomen in concern.

"Does it hurt bad?" she asked softly.

"It's not that bad. I'll be all right...Where are we?"

They looked around.

It appeared that they were at the base of the Gold Saucer. That majestic building was next to them - but at the bottom of the gilt structure was just plain, heavy metal, dull and dirty. Surrounding them was a wasteland of desert that did indeed stretch on forever. However, an enclosure of electric wire travelled right round the Gold Saucer, penning them in like caged animals. Several corrugated metal and rotting wooden houses stood in irregular positions all around the enclosure. Around the houses wandered hardened criminals, their skins tanned chocolate in the burning sun. They stared at the newcomers with a sort of empty dislike etched on to their faces.

"It's no Costa del Sol, that's for sure," Tifa lamented under her breath, taking in the expanse of burning sand and rock with intense disfavour.

"This is Corel Prison," Cait Sith informed them morosely. "The best prison on this Planet, I'd say. It's surrounded by quicksand so no one can escape. And no one _has_ ever escaped." He paused a moment. "The boss of this place is really weird. He came from the town of Corel one day demanding to be in charge. Must have been real desperate to get a job. I mean, who'd want to work in this dump?"

Cloud was about to ask who this supposed person was when off in the distance he noticed Barret's hulking figure stoopedover the body of man.

"Look!" Cloud gasped. "It's Barret!"

The others put their hands to their foreheads in astonishment. Cait Sith shuddered.

"Is that your friend? He looks dangerous."

"What is he doing to that man?" Red asked.

"Let's find out."

Cloud walked warily over to Barret, followed by the others. As they approached, Barret noticed them. Startled, he stood up, away from the man. Not to his surprise, Cloud saw that it was plain that the man was dead - from a gunshot wound to his chest. He stared up at Barret sternly.

"Barret, did you do this?"

Barret gazed back at him furiously, his eyes on fire in the flaming sun.

"Why'd ya follow me? I don't want none of you to get involved. This is something I gotta deal with by myself. So jus' leave me alone!"

"But Barret!" Cloud called, "if you did this, we can't have you killing people anymore! I understand you're hurt, but we're here to help you...!"

"Shut up!" Barret interrupted fiercely, sudden extreme grief spilling over his brutal features. "I told you, jus' leave me alone!"

He stomped off violently, disappearing out of sight between two decrepit houses.

"I don't like the look of him," Cait Sith saidin an undertone."He sure looks capable of gunning down people!"

"No." Tifa shook her head thoughtfully. "It's not like him at all. I don't understand what's going on."

"Neither do I," Cloud agreed. "But right now, our priority is finding a way to escape."

* * *

They wandered the prison aimlessly. The other inmates glared at them through tortured eyes, while others simply trailed the five all the way round the enclosure, having nothing better to do. It was a terrible place - most of the paint and metal had begun to peel and buckle in the sun, and the wooden structures were rotting. In a corner of the prison, an instructor was barking orders to captives in a physical training session. The worst thing about the whole prison was that there seemed to be nothing for the inmates to do. Most of them had lived for years in the neglected houses and they could be picked out by the way they talked to themselves constantly in a funny, rabbity tone of voice. They'd spent so long by themselves, without anything to occupy their time that they had ended up being driven insane. One of the convicts who still had his wits about him, seeing the outsiders, threw them a sympathetic look. 

"Whatever you do," he advised them in a wearied voice, "don't ever ask anyone in this place what they think about it. They'll just tell you lies."

Taken aback at this strange warning, the five walked past dumbly. The man's words, however, proved to be correct. Some of the prisoners had reverted to pathological lying, falsifying every single little detail they talked about to each other. Indeed, it seemed to be one of Corel Prison's most popular pastimes.

At one end of the enclosure was a rusty camping van. At its doors stood two beat-up men who looked like makeshift sentries.

"Looks like someone pretty important is inside," Cloud said to himself. "Maybe we should look inside."

"It's worth a try," Red agreed.

Satisfied, Cloud led them into the camping van. The sentries said nothing. In fact, as Cloud passed, it seemed to him that they were sleeping in the blazing afternoon sun.

Inside the van was a slimy-looking man sitting on a back seat with his feet up, a glass of some sort of cocktail in his hand. He was wearing a grey, frayed suit and darkened glasses. It was obvious, at a first glance, that he was a prisoner who'd been given certain privileges. As he noticed the visitors, he stood up, grinning.

"Ah! The newcomers! Coates is the name, and I'm here to always give help to the prisoners! So what can I do for you? Sort out a bully? Sort out accommodation? Counselling...?"

His voice, like his features, was overtly smarmy. Cloud decided that the best thing was to be direct with him.

"We want to get out of here."

For a moment, Mr. Coates looked noticeably amazed and confounded. Then he gave a nervous little laugh.

"Well, there's nothing I can do to help you there...You'd have to ask the boss about that one."

"And who might the boss be?"

Mr. Coates looked surprised.

"You don't know who the boss is? Geez, everyone knows who he is. That's Mr. Dyne."

Cloud dropped his jaw in utter astonishment.

"_Dyne_! But he's dead!"

Mr. Coates scratched his head.

"Is he? I saw him this morning and he seemed fine to me. Maybe a bit pissed though..."

Cloud looked back at the others.

"Something weird's going on here. We've got to find Barret."

Running out of the van and leaving the flabbergasted Mr. Coates behind, the five rushed back to the spot where they'd seen Barret. Unfortunately, he was nowhere to be seen. They next decided to search the decaying houses, but got nowhere at all. Cait Sith stopped them in the middle of a search of one of the houses.

"Wait a minute! Wait a minute!"

Everyone stopped dazedly and stared at him. The cat drew in a deep breath.

"Okay, I know it's very important you look for this Barret. But would somebody _please_ tell me what's going on!"

Cloud, realising that Cait Sith knew nothing of Barret, withdrew himself from the next room he'd been looking into, and sighed.

"Well, it's a bit hard to explain in one go."

"So?" Cait Sith probed. "I have time, and this is all sounding very strange to me."

"Look," Cloud began, "basically, Barret had this friend years ago, called Dyne."

"Oh!" Cait Sith began to grin. "And you're tryin' to find him so that he can bribe this Dyne into getting us out?"

Cloud shook his head impatiently.

"No, no!" He breathed in slowly, then began again. "Barret told us Dyne was dead. But he isn't. We want to find out why he lied."

Before Cait Sith could say anything, the door to the room was flung open and in came Barret himself. Cloud gasped.

"Barret! You're here!"

Barret said not a word and raised his gun arm toward the group. Aerith cried out in terror.

"Barret! Don't!"

He began to fire. Closing their eyes, everyone prepared themselves as best they could. Cloud had no time to think or even to pray. The bullets raged on and on for a minute or so, then stopped abruptly. Cloud opened his eyes in confusion. He wasn't dead! He was still alive! And the others? Looking round, he saw they were all alive too. So what...? There was a rustling sound behind a nearby ragged settee to the rear of the group. Everyone whirled round in surprise. A man fell from behind it - it was he whom Barret had shot.

Cloud looked at the angryolder man in mystification.

"Barret? Why...?"

Barret lowered his gun-arm and snapped at him.

"Why'd you come after me! I told you not to! These spies are everywhere! If they hear about me, do you realise the trouble I'll get into!"

"But...I don't understand."

"Yeah, right," Barret retorted bitterly. "You never do."

"Barret," Tifa interrupted. "Did you kill all those men?"

He shook his head adamantly.

"No! I'd never do such a thing!"

"Then who would?"

Barret fell silent, then he spoke again, his voice low.

"There was another man who had the same operation as me on his left arm four years ago. It was him that did it."

"Dyne?" Cloud put in. Barret stared at him in surprise, then nodded.

"Yeah. Dyne." He sighed. "God. Looks like I've got some explaining to do."

Red nodded.

"I think I agree with you on that one."

Barret, sighing heavily a second time, sat down on the settee and looked up at them all.

"It was on that day four years ago. The day of the fire..."

-oOo-

* * *

That morning, Dyne and I had been informed of the small fire in the Mount Corel Mako Reactor. We had been instructed to go down to the scene of the blaze immediately. I'd been having my breakfast when I'd received the news. My wife, Myrna, was dubious about letting me go down. 

"Stay here and finish your breakfast, Barret," she begged me. "Don't go up there this morning."

"But darlin', I've got a direct order from the Shinra," I reasoned. "I can't keep them waiting, can I."

"But...I just feel..."

"Woman's intuition, right?" I joked, kissing her on the cheek. "Don't worry darlin', Dyne and I'll take care of everythin'."

I'll never forget Myrna's face as I left. She looked so vulnerable somehow, insecure. Every single day after that, the image of her face haunted me. Even now it does. I keep on thinking: _Maybe she'd known..._

Dyne and I travelled over the mountain and up to the Mako Reactor. It had only been a small fire, in the Reactor's computer system. It was in a bad way, but the technicians assured us that it would be fixed in a couple of days. Satisfied that our job had been well done, Dyne and I began the journey back toward Corel. As we were walking back across the railway tracks, one of the elders of our village, Hiram, came running toward us over the horizon. He must have been nearly a hundred - I'd never seen Old Hiram run like that before in my life. Seeing something was wrong, we ran up to meet him. The poor old guy was out of breath, and panic was etched on his craggy face.

"Hiram, what's wrong?" I asked urgently, as Dyne helped the panting man to regulate his breathing.

"It's the village..." Hiram replied, hardly able to breathe, "...The Shinra came...they set fire to it!"

At first it was all too hard to take in. Dyne and I stared at each other in horror, unable to believe what we'd just heard. Hiram, seeing our bewilderment, pointed over the mountain in the direction of Corel.

"Look...over there!"

Dyne and I jumped down from the aqueduct that the tracks were built over. Rushing over to the edge of the mountain, we looked out over the rich, green forests in which Corel lay. It seemed as if the whole wood were on fire. A huge tongue of flames was consuming our village, filling the crystal clear blue sky with a cloud of dense black smoke. In the space of time in which I witnessed that scene, I felt as if my whole world were falling apart. I let out a cry of pain into the air - a cry of hatred. At that very moment, I loathed the Shinra with all my heart.

Dyne laid a hand on my shoulder.

"Barret, Barret, don't worry! Myrna, Eleanor, Marlene...they'll be fine, we'll get them out if we hurry!"

That was so much like Dyne - always so reassuring, even to the last. But I was so infuriated I would not listen to him.

"Dyne, don't you understand! They've burnt our village! Everyone will be dead!"

Dyne would have continued, but we heard Hiram suddenly calling to us. Looking up in his direction, we saw that a pack of Shinra soldiers were running toward the old man over the aqueduct. Hiram began to limp toward us.

"Barret, Dyne, we've got to save the...!"

The soldiers did not allow him to finish his sentence. They pulled their triggers on him, callously shooting our elder in the back with a spray of bullets. Hiram fell down like a fly, not even making a sound as he died.

"Hiram!"

That was it: the final straw. I was consumed with a violent urge to kill every single one of those men up on that aqueduct the way they'd killed my friends and family. Unfortunately, they had noticed Dyne and I, and were now pointing their rifles at us.

"Barret, run!" Dyne beckoned to me from under the aqueduct. I ran up beside him, the soldier's bullets riddling the floor behind me. As I got there, we both realised that we couldn't stay in that position; the soldiers would definitely throw down a grenade on top of our heads. Dyne and I decided to run on back in the direction of Corel. We dashed for it, quite successfully, as the soldiers were not such good shots. But as we were passing across the ridge of the mountain, another person joined them on the aqueduct. It was Scarlet.

"You fools!" she was screaming at them. "You're letting them get away! Give that rifle to me!"

After that we didn't stand a chance. Scarlet was far better with a gun than her highly trained soldiers. Cutting our path off, she blew a ledge of rock right off the mountain. Dyne was not fast enough to jump over it. He fell down the gorge and, I really can't remember how, I just about managed to grab a hold on to him.

"Dyne, hang on!" I called. "I'm going to get you up!"

Dyne stared up at me, resignation glazing his face.

"No, Barret, it's all over. Take care of Eleanor and Marlene for me."

I shook my head with determination.

"Lissen, Dyne! We've got to do this together and save Corel. We're best mates, right! Now I'm getting you up!"

Hope filled his face.

"Yeah! Yeah, Barret, we're gonna save Corel together!"

I began to heave him up, but it was not to be. Scarlet, rather than see us die, left me with a torment that would never leave me. Aiming her gun, she fired several rounds. They struck straight through the hand that held Dyne and at the same time pierced his own hand. The pain was torturous. I could hold him up no longer.

Letting my torn fingers unfold, I watched Dyne fall, hurtle down into the dark depths of the chasm.

-oOo-

* * *

Barret bowed his head, clenching his left fist tightly. 

"I swore revenge for Corel and I got this gun grafted on to my arm. It was atonement, atonement for the last betrayal on Dyne. I thought he was dead." He glanced up at Cloud. "But he isn't. I was in the Battle Square in the Gold Saucer, when I actually saw him - my best friend - come in and murder all those people! I followed him down here...and then you lot came."

Cloud crossed his arms pensively.

"So Dyne's still alive."

"Yes." Barret replied. "And I've got to know what's got into him. That and..." he hung his head, "...apologising. For what I did four years ago."

"Then you can be sure," Cloud guaranteed him, "that we'll come with you. Just in case you need helping out."

Barret shook his head.

"I know what you're thinkin' - that Dyne's out of control and he might get violent." He sighed "Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt I you helped me find him..."

"Of course!" Tifa interjected "We're right behind you Barret!"

Barret stood up straight.

"All right! Let's go find Dyne!"

* * *

They asked possibly every inmate of Corel Prison where Dyne was and got various conflicting answers, proving once again that the captives did lie about almost everything. Eventually, though, they were directed to the prison's rubbish tip.

"For some reason, Dyne always goes there," was the knowing remark of the grizzled informant.

It took several minutes to find the rubbish tip. It was situated on the top of a small, desert cliff, where a valley suddenly dipped down further into the heat of the barren wilderness. The evening had begun to drag on, and the blazing sun had been replaced by howling winds. Gloomy, rotting piles of refuse created large menacing mazes that threaded in and out of each other. They were about to give up, when suddenly they turned an unexpected corner. This led to a small clearing in the mountains of trash. The edge of the cliff jutted out like a sort of platform, leaving the desert landscape in full view, ceaseless and arid. At the rim of the cliff stood two broken wooden crosses driven crookedly into the ground.

And by the crosses, looking out on to the deserts, stood the broken body of a broken man.

Barret stumbled forward.

"Dyne!"

The man started like he'd been shot.

"That voice," he said quietly, not turning round. "It's a voice I remember so well." He paused momentarily, letting the moment sink in "Barret, it's you."

The man turned round then, slowly. He had a powerful figure, but his unshaven face was filled with deep gorges and ridges. Instead of his left hand was a machine gun, just like Barret's.

"Dyne!" Barret began to walk over to him, but Dyne stopped him quickly.

"No! Don't come near me!"

Barret halted, surprised and confused. Dyne seemed angered for a moment, then he stared at him curiously for a short time. He began to walk painstakingly toward Barret, dragging his evidently injured left foot behind him.

"I can hear..." he almost whispered, drawing closer to Barret and then stopping, "...I can hear her voice...Eleanor's voice..." His face twisted in pain. "She's telling me...not to hate your rotten guts."

Barret gazed at him in guilt, realising that Dyne was not about to accept any apologies he may have prepared.

"Dyne, don't say that. Look, I'm sorry. It's long overdue, I know. I messed up everything with that Mako Reactor business. I'm sorry."

Dyne shook his head, loathing on his face.

"What good is that gonna do? Do you know something Barret? I wanted to destroy everything when Corel went down. I still do." He aimed his gun to his left, let out a shot making everyone jump. "This Prison." He shot to his right. "You, Barret." He stopped, turned the gun to the floor at Barret's feet, let out three ringing blasts. "Myself!"

He stopped again and began to walk away, to the edge of the cliff. "You know, you destroyed everything Barret. Eleanor and Marlene - they both died because of you."

Barret spoke to him softly.

"Dyne...Marlene is alive."

There was wild astonishment on Dyne's face as he turned.

"Marlene...alive?"

Barret nodded encouragingly.

"Yes. I rescued her from the flames that day. I took her to Midgar and took care of her. She's all grown up now."

Dyne's face changed again. He looked close to tears.

"What...what does she look like?"

"Exactly like Eleanor," Barret replied with a mixture of pride and sorrow.

Dyne said nothing and looked down at the ground. Barret spoke up to him.

"Dyne, come back with me and see her. Don't you think Marlene would want to see you again? You're her real papa."

For a moment, unrestrained hope crossed the other man's face; then he seemed to become angry again.

"No, Barret, it's no good." His eyes glinted as he looked up. "Marlene wouldn't even know me. How old was she when I left? She was just a baby!"

"Dyne..." Barret began to walk over to him, but Dyne held out his gun toward him.

"No! Just stand back Barret!" Anguish filled his face. "For so many years now I've wanted revenge for this pain! So many years I've been tormented with this nothingness! While you ran away with my daughter, I was left here in this god-forsaken dump! You lived life just as normal: set up a home, made new friends, found yourself a fresh existence! And what was I left with!" He was trembling in violent hatred as he clutched his outstretched arm. "I'm going to kill you, Barret! I'm going to finish this now, after all those long years of waiting!"

Everyone stood stock-still. Barret remained like a statue, unable to move, petrified. Dyne stood like a ferocious and angry sculpture, arm drawn out, trembling, ready to fire. The fear and loathing hung in the air, the persistent caterwauling of the evening wind brewing it up like a cauldron. Then, abruptly, something in Dyne's face changed. Bitter remorse flowed into it, and tears suddenly poured down his cheeks. He broke down completely and lowered his arm.

"I can't do it!" he choked. "I can't do it!"

Barret let out a tight breath, distressed at his friend's anguish.

"Dyne, you can't torment yourself like this!"

He moved forward again, but Dyne shook his head bitterly.

"Stay back!" he gasped. "Stay back!"

Barret, realising that his life was hanging in the balance here, stopped. Presently, Dyne recovered himself and limped off to the edge of the cliff and leaned on the nearest cross. After a thoughtful pause, he spoke to Barret.

"Barret, I'm sorry too, man."

Barret looked up at him, tears springing to his eyes.

"God, Dyne, you know I'm sorry too, I've always _been_ sorry."

Dyne looked away, a dreamy look on his face. It was as though he hadn't heard Barret at all.

"You know, Barret," he began finally, gently. "I didn't only lose my hand that day. I lost something else. Something irreplaceable. That's why, afterwards, I wanted to destroy everything, even the Planet. But the world was dead for me anyway. It wouldn't even have mattered."

Barret spoke softly to him, hopefully.

"But now you can find something that matters." He lifted his voice eagerly. "Let's go back, Dyne. Let's go and see Marlene together."

Dyne hung his head and then put his hand to a necklace round his neck. Undoing the catch, he threw it to Barret, who caught it.

"It was Eleanor's," Dyne explained sorrowfully. "I want you to give it to Marlene, Barret."

Barret looked down at the shining silver pendant.

"But..."

"Barret," Dyne's voice was unusually gentle. "Tell Marlene 'bout her old dad sometime, will you? Tell her, I'm sorry I couldn't see her." He walked to the edge of the cliff. "Besides...my hands are a little too stained to hold her now." He glanced up at Barret "Bye, Barret. It's over."

Turning, he walked forward, no pain, no regret on his face. Now there was just peace.

Barret ran forward, fear, agony welling up within him.

"Dyne, _no_!"

But Dyne had gone, off the edge of the cliff, down into the depths of the craggy desert below. Barret stumbled forward, fell on to his hands and knees, tears streaming down his face. Opening his mouth, he let outone ringing, poignant cry.

"_NO_!"

The single word echoed out over the endless, deathly wilderness, resounding over and over as if it would not go away. Everyone hung their heads in silent remorse. Cloud, looking up, mournfully made his way toward the bent figure, tried to help him up.

"Barret..."

Barret turned round, placed his hands on Cloud's shoulders and spoke, his voice, face - both of them pleading desperately.

"My hands are no less stained than his were, Cloud!" he wailed, tears flooding over his roughened face, as he clung to the other with unrestrained grief. "They're no less stained than his were!"

-oOo-

* * *

_Next: A run-in with the Turks..._


	16. PART 2 A Little Excursion

**A/N:** Sorry for the late update, I've been uber busy of late... :p

-oOo-**

* * *

**

**: Chapter Seven : A Little Excursion**

Barret charged into Mr. Coates camping van, immediately followed by Cloud and the others. The tawdry man, taken off guard by the rude entrance, stood up in surprise, spilling some of his cocktail onto the crude carpet floor.

"What do you want!"

Barret grabbed him cleanly by his cheap tie.

"We want outta here, buster!"

Mr. Coates looked up at him fearsomely, dazed as to why this big man should be talking so aggressively to him.

"But I told you guys, you gotta talk to the boss!"

"Your boss is dead," Barret growled at him roughly. Mr. Coates' face turned pale, then red in anger.

"Hey, how do I know you're not lyin'!"

Barret clamped shut his mouth and indicated to Dyne's silver pendant around his neck. The man gaped at it.

"Is that proof enough?" Barret demanded gruffly.

"Okay, okay, I'm convinced!" the poor man shouted, his cheeks white again. "No one wears that but Dyne!"

Barret dropped Mr. Coates back to the floor.

"Well, now that you're finally convinced, let me tell you something. It was your old boss who went crazy an' killed all those people up there! Now will you please phone thatcrazy Dio guyan' get us out of here!"

Mr. Coates rearranged his tie begrudgingly.

"All right, all right, I'll see what I can do."

A quick phone call produced quick results. By early the next morning, a telegram was sent from Dio, who begged forgiveness for his terrible mistake. Cloud read it out to the others.

_" 'Dear boy,_

_Sorry for what happened back there in the Battle Square. Mr. Coates explained the situation to me and I assure you that you will be fully re-endorsed. As a token of my affections, I have included one of the Shinra's newest automobiles as repayment. Hope to see you again at my Gold Saucer. Many apologies, Dio._

_P.S. - By the way, your young friend, Sephiroth, is headed south, for Gongaga Village.' "_

Cloud looked up from the note.

"I wish he'd stop calling me 'boy'."

"Hey!" Aerith exclaimed. "I wonder what that 'new automobile' is. Do you think it's a motorbike?"

Although wild fantasies of motorbikes seemed perfectly acceptable to Aerith, this was not to be. When they were escorted out of the prison and on to the quicksand plains, they found themselves presented with a shiny silver spray painted truck-like vehicle. Aerith exclaimed in disappointment.

"Hey, is that all?"

"Hang on a minute," Cloud began thoughtfully. "This could come in really useful. We can all fit into that truck - and it will take us places faster."

"Hey, you're right!" Tifa cried. "In fact, this is _exactly_ what we need!"

Red jumped into the back of the buggy and looked back at them over his shoulder.

"Well come on then! I believe Sephiroth's headed for Gongaga, no? Then let's go!"

Filled with a new sense of enthusiasm, the six friends piled themselves into their new vehicle, Cloud at the wheel. He turned the key in the ignition and the truck sprung into gear smoothly.

"To Gongaga we go!" Cloud cried and they drove off, over the quicksand and desert, toward the south, toward Gongaga.

* * *

After travelling for a couple of hours or so over the desert and then the grassy plains of the southern New Continent, they began to near more wooded areas of land. The mood was generally one of elation amongst them - except for Barret, who seemed to be pretty depressed, which was understandable. Surprisingly though, he did not complain in the least, but sat like a lamb - if that could be imagined of him - in the back of the truck. It was Cait Sith, strangely, who seemed the most jumpy, but Cloud put this down to the fact that he was their newest member, and didn't quite know what was going on. It was left up to mainly Aerith and Red to explain about the purpose of their mission and the story Sephiroth. Cait Sith had seemed impressed. 

"Wow! You wanna save the Planet from thiscrazy guy! Isn't that a bit far-fetched?"

"Well, we're not really only trying to stop Sephiroth," Aerith explained patiently. "The original reason why we went after Sephiroth was because Cloud had some unfinished business with him."

Cait Sith shook his head in awe.

"You've sure taken up some job!"

Tifa, meanwhile,had sat in the passenger seat at the front with Cloud, mainly blurting out her anecdotes of optimism, trying to keep everyone's spirits up. Cloud had smiled at that. Some things never changed.

* * *

Presently, on the horizon appeared the dense form of a forest. In the midst of the trees stood the ruin of an old Mako Reactor. Thin trails of smoke in the background provided evidence of some sort of settlement. Tifa leaned out of the window to get a better look at the place. 

"Do you think that's Gongaga? It looks pretty run down to me." She pointed at the crumbling figure of the reactor. "It looks like that reactor's exploded."

"There's no other sign of habitation around here though," Red pointed out.

"Well, let's take a look at the place," Cloud decided. "If it isn't Gongaga, we'll ask for directions."

With everyone agreeing on this idea, Cloud drove on to the edge of the forest. Once outside, he got out of the truck. The surrounding woods did not appear to be very dense. In fact, it looked quite inviting and cosy from the outside. The tall, leafy trees let in large amounts of sunlight and various bracken and woodland flowers were growing amongst the pea-green grass and colossal oaks. Cloud walked back to the vehicle.

"It shouldn't take long to reach the village," he stated. Barret popped his head out of the window.

"Hey, Cloud! What if that place isn't Gongaga? There's no point in us all goin' if it isn't."

"Well, we'll split up then," Cloud shrugged.

"Good idea," Barret said wryly "But what if it _does_ turn out to be Gongaga?"

Cloud rummaged in his pocket and produced the cell phone, waggling it in front of Barret's face playfully.

"Then you get to use your beloved phone," he replied. "If we give you a call, you'll know that we've found the place we want. You never know, Sephiroth might still be there. That sound okay to you?"

Barret gave the thumbs up sign.

"Great. Besides..." he looked embarrassed, "I don't feel like going traipsin' round at the moment."

Cloud nodded sympathetically.

"I understand." He looked round at the others. "So - who's going to come with me, and who's going to stay with Barret?"

Without much further ado, it was decided that the girls should go with Cloud, and the others stay and watch over the truck. Cloud, feeling a bitdubious about the situation - for some reason he always felt nervous around Aerith and Tifa - nevertheless led his small party through the woods.

It seemed pleasant enough at first. The place had its fair share of animals, which Tifa and Aerith invariably found cute. Then, as they travelled further into the forest, an unpleasant yet faint odour seemed to drift from between the sweet-smelling oaks and elms, one that did not go with the sunny woodland scenery.

"What's that smell?" Tifa asked, wrinkling her pert little nose in disgust. "It's horrible."

The smell became stronger as they ventured further into the trees, and soon became recognisable to Cloud.

"I'd know that smell anywhere," he mused quietly. "It's the smell of...burning Mako."

"Yes!" Aerith suddenly cried. "That's what you smelt like when you bought my flower the day we first met." She paused and smiled nostalgically. "It seems such a long time ago."

Tifa looked at her with a confused expression, and Cloud realised she knew nothing of how he and Aerith had first met.

"_What_ are you talking about?" She didn't seem too concerned with finding an answer. "I guess this means there was an explosion at this reactor then."

Cloud nodded.

"Uh huh. It sure looks like it. I wonder what happened."

"Maybe some terrorist like you blew it up," Aerith suggested wryly.

At length, the woodland growth began to thin out and gave way to several small, sunlit clearings. From this Cloud deduced that the village and its Mako Reactor was probably nearby. The awful stench strengthened too, much to Tifa's discomfort.

"Where is this damned village?" she complained grumpily. "I hope it's air-conditioned."

"It would have to be, being situated in this place," Aerith answered, also beginning to be put off by the stink. It was at that moment that Cloud thought he heard voices nearby, unmistakably floating from somewhere within the trees and thicket. He stopped abruptly, put a finger to his lips warningly.

"Hey, you two, be quiet."

Aerith and Tifa ceased their chatter and walked over to where Cloud was, alarmed at his sudden instruction.

"What is it?" Aerith whispered earnestly.

Cloud cocked his head to one side warily. Very faintly, to his right, he could hear the distinct murmur of two conversing voices babbling on from behind a wall of bracken.

"Don't you hear it?" he persisted, looking at the other two. "It's over there, behind all that growth."

Both Aerith and Tifa looked about to where he had been pointing, attentive expressions on their faces. Then they both gave whispered exclamations.

"Yes! I can hear something!"

"It's two people talking, isn't it?"

Cloud listened again silently. There were definitely two people talking, and, as he began to creep into the direction the sounds were coming from, he was able to determine that it was actually two males conversing. And the voices, he realised, sounded distinctly familiar to him. Aerith and Tifa stared at him dumbly, suspense glazing their eyes. Turning to them, Cloud gestured for them to come to him. They walked over to his side nervously.

"What is it?" Tifa whispered.

"Two men, talking." Cloud replied in a low voice. "And they sound familiar."

"Familiar?" Tifa replied, eyebrow raised.

"Yes." Cloud answered simply. "I think we should see what's going on. It sounds suspicious."

The three tiptoed up to a small tangle of shrubbery. From here, the voices became much clearer. Secreting themselves behind the leafy bush, Cloud scrabbled a small hole in the greenery through which they could all peer. Signing for them to be quiet, Cloud leant forward, andsquinted through the hole and on to the owners of the voices.

Rude and Reno were standing together in a small, sunlit glade, talking to each other between puffs from two expensive cigarettes, complete with the Shinra's standard filters. They appeared to be having a very engrossing conversation, for even Rude, who never said much at all in normal circumstances, was at least talking without the use of monosyllables.

The hidden eavesdroppers looked at each other in blatant surprise. What were the Turks doing, hanging around in the forest, smoking cigarettes and having an old gossip? Waiting for Sephiroth? No, Cloud thought. They didn't look as if they were waiting for someone as important as Sephiroth. Turning his ear closer toward the two, he took the opportunity to eavesdrop properly. It was Reno who was talking.

"Hey, Rude, I've got this question I've been dying to ask you for ages."

The other man took a drag from his cigarette and exhaled the dusty white smoke smoothly.

"What's that?" he asked in his deep and sonorous voice.

Reno began to laugh helplessly, causing Rude to stare at him in mild alarm.

"What is it?" he probed, inquisitiveness filling his usually apathetic speech. "What do you want to ask?"

Reno calmed down a little and wiped his eyes over with the back of his hand.

"I was just wondering...I was just..." He began to break off into a fresh bout of laughter, and Rude, half-annoyed and half-curious, began to press him again.

"What? Hey, tell me, man."

Reno stopped chortling and gave Rude a devious, impish grin.

"I was wondering..." his mouth twitched and laughter threatened to break off his sentence once again, but he hastily stuffed cigarette between his lips, "...when are you going to ask Elena out to dinner?"

Rude stood wordlessly for a second, trying to decipher Reno's muffled speech. When he'd finally taken it in, he gaped at Reno in shock.

"What?"

Reno gave him a little dig in the ribs, winking at his flabbergasted companion.

"_You_ know...it's a bit obvious, isn't it? I mean, you and Elena?"

Rude said nothing and quietly rearranged the shades on the bridge of his nose. Reno looked at him in confusion.

"Are you trying to tell me that it's not Elena you're interested in?"

Rude gave a polite little cough and finally shrugged.

"Well...I couldn't really say..."

Cloud felt Aerith shaking beside him in an odd manner. Turning to her, he saw that she had buried her head in her hands and was shuddering in suppressed laughter. Cloud gently placed a finger to his lips and shushed her, though he could hardly stop laughing himself. It was quite humorous to see the usually sedate and dignified Turks acting like human beings, and even more comical to see the sober Rude flustered. Cloud once more turned his attention back to the other two men in the clearing.

Reno was gazing up at Rude questioningly.

"So who do you like? I've got to find out the answer to this deep dark mystery."

Rude blushed, if that could have been possible.

"You've got to promise you won't tell anyone," he warned, and Reno promised eagerly. Rude took in a deep breath. "Well, you know that girl from AVALANCHE...?"

Reno gave out a cry of surprised delight.

"Tifa? Tifa Lockheart?"

Cloud and Aerith immediately shot Tifa staggered looks and Tifa shook her head wildly, just as astounded as they were.

Reno was still speaking.

"I mean, whoa, man! I thought you like Elena!"

Rude gave an embarrassed half-laugh.

"I do, it's just that..."

Reno nodded knowingly.

"Yes, that Tifa's a foxy-lady. Bit of a wild card though, I'd say. Not my type."

Tifa wriggled indignantly behind the bush, unable to resist speaking her mind.

"What?" she hissed. "Who's he calling a 'wild-card'!"

Cloud put a hand to her mouth before she could even think of continuing. Aerith began to titter uncontrollably, causing her to receive a few marked looks from Cloud.

"Well, _you_ know who Tseng likes," Reno carried on unwittingly, beginning to laugh again. "He likes the Ancient."

It was Aerith's turn to put on a disconcerted look, and Tifa's turn to laugh. Cloud glared at them hopelessly. This was the worst of bringing girls along - they always seemed to cause trouble, whether direct of otherwise. Tifa was talking again, before Cloud had even realised she'd opened her mouth.

"I bet Reno doesn't like anyone," she muttered vindictively. "He's too busy fancying himself."

There was a sharp sound behind them of twigs cracking, and then the petite form of Elena emerged into the clearing. The two men looked up at first with an anxious look, then with disappointment as they recognised her.

"Well," Reno began, throwing down his cigarette and stumping it out with his heel. "Any signs of them?"

"No," Elena replied, obviously frustrated. "None. Our informant must be wrong."

"No," Reno disagreed mildly. "The informantwouldn't be wrong. Something must have happened."

"Well, I hope you're going to do something about it!" Elena retorted in irritation. "You know our present mission is to catch AVALANCHE as well as Sephiroth. I don't want to get a bad report in my first term as a member of the Turks just because you're so lazy! God, I'm so pissed off!"

"Simmer down, Elena," Reno replied easily. "I thought you were going to try to control your tongue."

Elena ignored the statement.

"Just look at you! How do you expect to get any work done like that? Smoking, having a nice little chat! I suppose you expect me to get all the work done! Well, I'm not having it! I'm reporting you to Tseng right away!"

"Go ahead," Reno replied with a shrug. Elena glared at him for a moment, then, with a snort of annoyance, she stomped off through the trees again.

"Man!" Reno exclaimed once she had disappeared out of earshot. "Why'd _she_ have to be promoted? I can't think what you see in her Rude."

Rude looked embarrassed.

"Let's not discuss it."

"Fine with me. Just talking about her gets up my arse anyway," Reno shrugged. He looked about warily. "Do you think we should go back? Nothing's happened round here."

"Yeah, let's go. I need a piss."

"Okay then." They turned to go, and their voices continued, getting progressively quieter as they disappeared out of sight.

"Bit weird really. The informant's reliable...Can't think why nothing happened...Hope Tseng isn't mad...Probably will be after that idiot Elena opens her trap..."

The three get quite still until there was nothing more to be heard. When Cloud was sure that the two men had gone he heaved in a sigh of relief and stood up.

"Man, that was close," he breathed.

Tifa looked across at him, her expression puzzled.

"Hang on a minute. Did you hear what they were saying? Didn't Elena say something about 'information'? How could they have known we were coming?"

They looked at each other in silence. Cloud crossed his arms and tapped his foot on the ground.

"There's only one thing that I can think of," he began, "and that's that there's a spy amongst us."

"A spy!" Aerith looked surprised "But who could it be! I couldn't imagine that any one of us would stoop so low as that!"

"Neither would I," Cloud replied, dryly. "But it appears that someone has."

"This is bad," Tifa commented, looking troubled. "We're going to have to be careful. It'll be hard to know who to trust."

"Well...there's not much we can to about it," Cloud finally decided. "Rooting them out of our midst could be dangerous. We'll just have to keep on our guard."

It was agreed that each of them should keep quiet for the moment and not mention anything to the others.

"Let's find the village, shall we?" Aerith eventually asked. "I'd guess you were all tired after that fight. And we need to stock up on supplies too."

"Yes," Tifa put in. "Let's move on."

As they wandered further into the forest, it suddenly thinned out drastically to reveal a choice of two hacked back paths.

"Which one?" Cloud asked.

Tifa chose the second one, and they travelled down it over suddenly barren and dusty earth. At this point, the familiar, unpleasant and pungent odour became even stronger, causing the others to reel in disgust. They weren't given the chance to complain, for straight away the path ended to unveil a desolate wasteland that seemed to stretch on forever. Slap bang in the middle of the arid wilderness was the imposing structure of a Mako Reactor - but this reactor was crumbling to bits, smoke was emanating from cracks in it's huge metal body, and it was obvious that the smell of burning Mako was exuding from it's walls.

"So this is the source of that terrible smell." Tifa cried, but the sound of feet crunching on the gravel nearby caused her to cease, and the three to hide behind a length of rusty metal wedged in amongst the rocks and pebbles.

Cloud peered through a crack in the slice of metal. To his amazement, he saw two figures walking away from the derelict Mako Reactor. Tseng - and Scarlet.

* * *

_Next: Cloud unwittingly faces a lost part of his past..._


	17. PART 2 Zack

**Disclaimer: **Characters are copyrighted to Squaresoft/Squaresoft-Enix. I'm getting no money out of this whatsoever... Boo, hiss.

-oOo-**

* * *

**

**: Chapter Eight : Zack**

"This Reactor is a disgrace," Scarlet was saying, stopping in her tracks to observe the construction. "I want you and your men to clean this mess up. Junky reactors only produce junky materia, Tseng."

Tseng gazed at Scarlet out of the corner of his eye with masked repugnance, but as he answered her question, his voice gave nothing of his true feelings toward the Head of Weapons Development away, as always.

"But we have our hands full with Sephiroth and AVALANCHE. Elena has just reported to me that as of yet there have been no sightings of AVALANCHE. We're currently extending the search."

"Oh?" Scarlet shifted her weight, her vermilion stilettos crunching in the grit. "So the information was incorrect." She paused thoughtfully. "So I suppose I'll have to deploy someone else to get all this muck tidied up. Don't you ever get tired of doing all the Shinra's donkey-work, Tseng?"

Tseng frowned slightly.

"We Turks are totally dedicated to the Shinra. Our work means everything to us, Ms. Scarlet."

Scarlet began to laugh in her harsh, mannish tone.

"Sometimes I wonder how the country would be run if you Turks were in government and not our Head Council. I suppose the world would be a much more tiresome place. Let me tell you Tseng, it's a hard life, and once you have a little power, you're better off abusing it. As they say: 'It is better to die on your feet that to live on your knees.' You Turks are exactly like Reeve - all brains and no bullying. It's a wonder he's still on our board." She stopped musing and grinned. "Well...if I get round that thick-skinned boss of yours, Heidigger, I'll see to it that you'll clean up this trash-site."

Tseng glowered at her with loathing, but the sound of a helicopter making its descent prevented her from noticing.

"Ah. Here comes my helicopter." She turned back to Tseng. "Excuse me, but I have a date with the new President to keep. Make your report immediately - the Gongaga Reactor is a disgrace to be cleared up, pronto."

She disappeared inside the helicopter, fluffing up her wind-blown hair in self-satisfaction. Tseng watched the aircraft ascend into the air and then fly off into the distance. Shaking his head wearily, he spoke softly to himself, unaware that he was being watched.

"Your plan is to live on your feet, Scarlet - but I have a feeling that you will end up dying on your knees."

Slowly, he turned and walked off down the path wordlessly, into the woods. When he had safely gone, Aerith turned to Cloud.

"So Gongaga is round here. It must have been down the path we didn't go down."

Retracing their steps and turning down the first path instead, the three made their way to Gongaga Village. Not a very pleasant sight greeted them as they entered. The tiny community had been practically flattened by the explosion of the Mako Reactor nearby, and it now looked more like the Midgar slums than the beauty spot it would have been not long ago. The people, too, were subdued and quiet. An old man and a young woman were in a small graveyard, praying. The man stared at Cloud and the others with vacant eyes as they passed, as though he could see them but his mind was still stuck in the past. There seemed to be no one else about. Everything was relatively silent, except for the pitiful baying of a dog in the distance. The only thing that seemed to imply inhabitation was the thin line of smoke that exuded from a makeshift hut. A sign above its door, in clumsy black characters: ITEMS FOR SALE.

"We need more potions," reminded Aerith, soberly. Cloud guessed it was because of the atmosphere of the area. He nodded.

"Come on, let's go in then."

They entered into the item shop. A surprisingly cheerful looking man stood at the counter.

"So what'll it be?" he greeted amiably, "I have everything available here. Potions, Phoenix Downs, Tents..."

"Too bad there aren't any Ethers round here," Tifa commented flippantly. The man frowned, but said nothing. He simply watched Cloud pick up some of his goods.

"Been a quiet day, huh?" Cloud said, as he got to the counter. The man sighed.

"It's always like this," he replied. "Hasn't changed since that damned reactor blew up all those years ago. Business used to be booming then. Now we're lucky to get any customers at all."

Cloud handed over the Gil.

"Yeah, living is pretty rough these days," he remarked. The man turned cheerful again.

"Oh well. Nothing we can do about it, except survive from day to day."

Cloud nodded, then decided it was time to ask about Sephiroth.

"I was wondering. Have you seen this man round your village recently? He has Mako eyes and wears a black cloak."

The man shook his head.

"Afraid not. No one comes here anymore. He may have passed through the forest though."

"Okay, thanks."

The man called to him jauntily, if not hopefully, as he left: "Make sure you come again!"

"Are they desperate here or what?" Tifa asked candidly. Aerith giggled.

"You've got to feel sorry for them. It's not likely that many people would stop by here just for fun." She turned to Cloud. "Cloud, I was thinking, since Sephiroth's not here, can we stay the night? I'm too tired to go back through that forest."

Since the other two felt the same way, they went in search for an inn, but there didn't seem to be any sign of one.

"Hmmm." Tifa scratched her head and looked around. "They should sign-post this place better. I can't see an inn anywhere."

"Hey, Tifa," Aerith suddenly began. "Do you think there'll be any boutiques around here?"

Aerith and Tifa both burst into laughter. Cloud pulled a wry face.

"Well, at least you two are happy."

They didn't appear to hear him, so, sighing, he began to look out for an inn. The place didn't seem to have one. It was so run down Cloud thought, that maybe, if there had been an inn, it would probably have closed down due to a lack of visitors. Cloud turned to the other two again.

"I don't think there is an inn here," he told them. "Maybe we should just ask some of the inhabitants here whether they have a room for the night."

"Look, there's a nice-looking house over there!" Tifa exclaimed. The house, if it could have been called nice-looking, at least looked better then the other drab and dirty huts around. They trudged over toward it.

"Do you think we should?" Aerith asked doubtfully.

Cloud nodded.

"It's getting late. If we don't find a place soon, we'll have to sleep on the streets or something." He knocked on the door.

It took a long while to be answered. When the door finally opened, it was by an old-looking woman. Cloud didn't think that she was that old, but she had circles under her eyes and hair that seemed to have greyed many years before it should have. She stared at the three of them blankly.

"Yes?"

Cloud cleared his throat.

"Hello, we were just passing through here and we couldn't find an inn anywhere. Do you think you could put us up for the night?"

The woman still looked quite expressionless.

"Sorry, there's no room here," she answered, in a dead-pan voice. "But the inn's on the other side of the village. It's next to the weapon store."

Cloud tried to smile. "Thanks."

He turned to go, but before he could, the woman suddenly stopped him.

"Wait a minute."

Cloud stopped and turned. The woman looked different somehow: it was almost as if she looked younger all of a sudden. There was an unanticipated touch of hope in her eyes.

"Will you come into this house for a minute?"

She did not explain herself, but waited on the doorstep, looking eagerly up at Cloud, expecting him to agree immediately. Cloud hesitated. He was confused at the woman's sudden strange request, but he had been touched by that look in her face. It was as though Cloud appeared to be a last hope to her. Wordlessly, he entered through the door that the woman was holding open for him. Aerith and Tifa followed in reluctantly.

Once inside the house, they stopped and stared. They had found themselves inside a pleasant-looking room, decorated with sparse furniture and possessions, but looking cosy enough. An oldish looking man was sitting in a chair by the fire, quietly reading from a battered, worn book. He looked up in surprise at the unexpected guests as they entered, then, as he saw Cloud, a look of undisguised hope filled his wrinkled face, just as it had the old woman's.

"Those eyes," he remarked in a croaky voice. "Mako eyes! You're from SOLDIER, aren't you!"

Cloud nodded.

"I was. Why? What do you want?"

The old woman shuffled over next to her husband and turned to face Cloud. She looked nervous, frightened almost. Flustered, she rubbed shaking hands over the front of her apron.

"We want news of our son," she finally explained, in a quavering voice. "He was in SOLDIER, top-class."

Cloud said nothing, but watched the woman, who seemed pained to carry on. The old man intervened.

"He went on a mission five years ago," he continued wearily. "But we haven't heard from him since. There has been no form of contact, no letters, no visits. We just want to know how he is. If you've seen him..."

Cloud looked at the two jaded figures and felt sorry for them. He spoke.

"I might have known him. What was his name?"

"Zack," the woman replied promptly, eager to get this over and done with, eager to find any news. Cloud thought. The name meant nothing to him.

"No," he admitted apologetically. "I didn't know anyone by that name. I'm sorry."

The woman hung her head.

"Then...he must be dead."

There was an uncomfortable silence. Cloud felt sad, and oddly ashamed. This poor old man and woman had waited for years in hope, years hanging on to the fact that their son might have been alive, some place, somewhere in this world. Cloud felt as though he had let them down. The old woman had begun to weep bitterly. Cloud bent his head.

"I'm sorry." he repeated. The old man, who'd been comforting his wife, smiled apologetically.

"No, it's all right. We should have had better sense, especially after all this time..."

He didn't finish, but shook his head sadly, and the room fell into a silence again. Cloud tried to think of something comforting to say, but a sound at the door made him turn. It was Aerith. She'd gone out quietly, leaving the others behind.

"Where is she going?" Cloud asked Tifa, but she made no reply. Her face was white, her eyes wide. Without saying anything, she too walked to the door and went out. Cloud was surprised. Why all this sudden evasiveness? He turned quickly to the couple.

"I think I'd better go too."

The old man nodded dejectedly and Cloud left. Tifa was walking away from the house in large, even strides. He had to run to catch up with her.

"Tifa, what's wrong?" he asked breathlessly as he levelled with her. Her face was still pale, and she looked anxious.

"Nothing's wrong, Cloud." she answered roughly, still walking fast. Cloud persisted.

"Tifa, did you know Zack?"

Tifa suddenly stopped and turned on him, a wild look in her eyes.

"No!" she cried, almost in horror, and then her face clamed suddenly. "How should I know Zack?" she asked. Cloud shrugged.

"I don't know. You tell me."

"I didn't know him," she insisted and it was obvious she'd say no more on the matter. She looked away from him quickly, waiting for him to speak.

"Where's Aerith?" he asked. Tifa shrugged.

"I think I saw her back there," she said quietly.

Aerith was standing not far off from the old couple's house, her eyes fixed on the floor. She remained motionless as Cloud and Tifa approached.

"Aerith, you all right?" Cloud inquired, noticing the odd, pensive look on her face. She nodded her head slowly.

"Yeah, I'm all right. I was just thinking, that's all."

"Thinking? About what?"

Aerith raised her head and looked soulfully into the distance.

"Zack," she answered shortly.

"Zack!" Cloud was astonished. "You knew him!"

She looked up at him and smiled wanly.

"Sure, I did. He was my first love."

Cloud was taken aback. Tifa said nothing. Aerith sighed, kicked at a piece of frozen earth with her foot.

"He left one day five years ago. He said he was going on a big mission. I never heard from him again. I assumed he'd found another girl. He was a real lady's man," she paused, laughed regretfully. "It never crossed my mind he was dead."

"I'm sorry," Tifa sympathised stiffly. "It must have been hard for you."

Cloud swallowed hard. He couldn't speak. Aerith laughed again.

"It doesn't matter. I'd kind of forgotten about it all."

She remained looking out into nothingness and Tifa suddenly shuffled her feet in the silence.

"I think...I'll go and find that inn now."

Cloud watched her walk away, and then looked at Aerith, who still seemed a million miles away. The more he thought about this Zack person, the more jealous he seemed to become of him. Aerith's first love? Judging by the way she acting now, Cloud thought, she'd been pretty serious about him.

"Zack," he said to himself. "Wow, what a big coincidence. Who'd have thought you'd have heard about him here and now, after all these years?"

"It was kind of a shock..." Aerith said slowly. "...I had almost given up hope on him."

Cloud pulled a face. "Yeah," he muttered acidly. Aerith detected the malicious tone in his voice. She stared up at him with wide eyes.

"Are you jealous, Cloud? Are you?" she asked him innocently. He passed her an evil look, but did not reply. Her face fell.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that, it's just that..." she stopped mid-sentence, then suddenly perked up. "Let's go and find Tifa, shall we?"

* * *

Tifa was waiting outside the inn. 

"I found it," she said, unnecessarily, her voice blunt. "It's only fifty Gil a night."

"Let's go in then," Cloud said quickly.

The innkeeper was over-joyed at the prospect of guests. It appeared that he had been on the verge of closing and that Cloud was in luck at having got him when he did. The room he had on offer was surprisingly cosy, the beds soft and welcoming.

"Wow!" Tifa exclaimed, throwing herself on a bed. "This is exactly what I've been needing all day!"

After phoning Barret to explain about Sephiroth's non-appearance and that they were staying the night in the village, the three settled down to sleep. It took Tifa little time to fall off into a deep slumber. Aerith got into bed at a slower pace, and she remained largely silent, except for a final 'goodnight'. Cloud had gone to bed last. He felt drained after the fight with Reno and Rude, but he didn't feel tired either. The bed was uncomfortable after a while, and it was hot. After tossing and turning for along time, he decided to sit up in bed. It was still humid. Cursing, he pulled off his top and chucked it somewhere. It continued to be stuffy. Cloud did not know how many hours had passed, but he soon lost the need to go to sleep. He remained wide-awake, sitting up, his head against the headboard. Tifa and Aerith seemed to be fast asleep, and this made him even more sullen. His mind turned viciously toward Zack.

His heart gave a violent twinge of unexpected jealousy. He had at first thought it ridiculous that he should feel so envious of someone he didn't even know, even if he was Aerith's first love. But then again, Cloud hadn't even been conscious that he was that concerned over Aerith anyway. He winced. Yes, well, maybe he had occasionally thought of her as vaguely attractive. Or very attractive. Or maybe...

A sound from Aerith's direction made him jump. She had been talking some nonsense in her sleep, he realised, and then suddenly, she sat bolt upright in her bed, awake. In the dim moonlight, he could see her suddenly bury her head in her hands and give out a long groan.

"Aerith?" he ventured, unsure. She jumped and stared at him in fright. Then her hand went to her breast.

"Oh. You're awake," she said. "You scared me."

"You were having a nightmare," he explained, flatly. "It seemed pretty bad."

She shook her head. "No, it was nothing. I can't even remember it." She flopped back on to her bed and sighed. After a while she spoke again. "It's hot in here, isn't it."

"That's why I'm awake," he replied. After a short pause, he continued, "Aerith, can you tell me about Zack?"

"Why?" she answered shortly.

"I'm just curious." Not only that, he also remembered Tifa's white face earlier on, and his own confusion, amid the envy.

"It's not important," she said finally. "It's in the past."

"Judging by your face this evening, I'd say it was important."

She sat up again and looked at him, putting herself into a more comfortable position.

"It's a long story," she said. "I'd better whisper, otherwise I'll wake up Tifa."

He nodded. Anything to pass the night away. To see if his jealousy was justified. To find out about Zack. It seemed important.

Aerith began her story.

* * *

It was very late at night in Midgar City, and I didn't know what time it was because I had no watch. But I knew it was late, because the Shinra soldiers were crawling around like dogs, going in and out of the bars, singing and drinking aimlessly. 

The reason why I was out so late was because business had been bad that day. It had been going downhill steadily for the past year, in fact ever since I'd started working as a flower girl. I didn't even really know why I was out hoping for customers at that time. The only people about were the Shinra soldiers, and they weren't very likely to want to want to buy flowers. I had decided, suddenly, that it would be better to go home.

Turning, I began to walk through the slums toward my home, but I hadn't been journeyed for more than ten seconds when two soldiers came running from the bar at the side of the road and straight into me. They didn't even appear to see me land on the hard, stone pavement, amongst a pile of my fallen flowers.

"Wait!" a voice called from down the path. "I said wait!"

But the two men didn't hear, or pretended not to hear, and disappeared, swaggering round a corner. I felt dizzy. I'd been slammed into quite heavily, and it had happened fast. Trying to pick myself up, I saw that my flowers were lying in a broken mess on the floor.

"Oh God," I groaned. I knew I was definitely not going to get any money tonight. I began to pick them up quickly, trying to mend their broken stems and leaves.

"Need any help?"

The disembodied voice that I'd heard earlier was above me, offering me help. I hardly looked up.

"Yes, please," I answered in relief. "Oh, my poor flowers."

The person bent down and began to pick up the flowers with me in silence. After a short while, the voice spoke again.

"This one doesn't seem to be broken."

I looked up.

It was a boy, not much older than me, with a good-looking face and bright eyes that shone with a strange glow. I found myself blushing and, with great difficulty, I managed to tear my eyes away from his to the flower in his hand.

"Oh, that's a rose. They don't break easily, because they have thick stems."

He still held it between his fingers and still didn't take his eyes off me.

"A rose, huh? So that's what it's called. Don't see many flowers round here."

I was still blushing.

"You can have it if you want. I'll sell it to you for a Gil."

The boy made no reply, but handed me the money. I was surprised.

"Oh, thank you!"

He smiled at me "How about telling me your name then?"

I stared up at him, feeling my heart flutter slightly. "Aerith," I stammered, "Aerith Gainsborough."

"Aerith," he repeated thoughtfully. "Pretty name for a pretty girl."

I couldn't help colouring again as he helped me up. Once I had thanked him again, he stayed looking at me, then he spoke once more.

"My name's Zack. I'm here with the Shinra. I'm in SOLDIER, top-class."

"The Shinra? You're not bad, are you?"

He laughed. "Bad? No way! I'm not like those drunks back there! They've got no brains. But I have. That's why I'm top-class." He paused. "Hey, I could walk you home. Just in case you run into any trouble."

"I'd much appreciate it, Mr. Zack."

He laughed again.

"Just call me Zack. Where do you live?"

I directed him to my home and then thanked him before he left. He shook his head and smiled at me.

"It was no trouble at all. All my pleasure." He seemed pensive for a moment, then he held out the rose to me. "Here, take this. I'd only ruin it. It's safer with you. And...it kind of suits you."

Once again, I could not help my cheeks turning as red as the rose "But your money..." I protested mildly, but he shook his head again.

"Keep it. It's the least I can do for a girl like you."

I received the rose gratefully.

"Are Shinra soldiers really as kind as you?" I mused out loud. Zack grinned at me.

"No. Only I am...to you." He turned to go, then stopped halfway. "Oh, I almost forgot...Goodnight, Aerith."

"Goodnight, Zack."

I watched him disappear into the blackness of the slums, then opened the door to my house. Letting it shut slowly, I leaned against it and gave a deep sigh. I was getting one of those silly, hot feelings you get when you think you've fallen in love. All that night, I tried to kid myself out of thinking about him. I didn't expect him to stick to me at all. And yet, nevertheless, he turned up at my door the very next evening.

I was astonished to see him.

"Zack!" I almost yelled. "What are you doing here!"

"Well," he leaned against the frame of the door conversationally, "I _was_ hoping to ask you if you'd like to go to dinner."

"To dinner!" I gasped. I could feel my heart beating fast again. "I'd love to. But I'd have to ask my mum first."

Zack shrugged. "As long as you can come."

Elmyra agreed, although rather dubiously, as always.

"You watch out Aerith," she warned. "You know what the Shinra are like. He could be someone from the Turks."

"No mum, he's in SOLDIER," I explained patiently. "Besides, I can take care of myself, you know that."

Elmyra agreed in the end. She always does. So Zack and I were free to go wherever we wanted. In the end, we decided to go to the restaurant in Wall Market. we ordered Wutainese barbecues (you guessed it!), and we took a little time to get to know each other.

Zack was eighteen, a year older than me. He had been in SOLDIER since he was fourteen, and worked himself so hard he'd got to first-class. He had been stationed in Midgar while taking care of some Mako Reactor business, and didn't expect to be moved out of town for quite some time, which was good for the both of us. Then I got to know more about his personality. He hated country life and liked being in the city. He was clever, and had always come out top in his SOLDIER training. He liked stuff to do with Mako reactors and he liked all the latest Shinra vehicles. He loved his women too. But best of all, he said he loved me...

* * *

"Hang on a minute!" Cloud interrupted quickly. "He said he _loved_ you on your first date!" 

"Is there something wrong with that?" Aerith replied, defensively.

"God, this Zack had a nerve," he mumbled, feeling slightly put out. "And what about that 'silly, hot feeling' you got? What does that suggest?" Aerith passed him a long look.

"Cloud, we were young and we liked each other. Besides," she looked at him solemnly, "when you fall in love, you don't get 'silly, hot feelings'. You feel something deeper than that."

Cloud hunched up his knees and rested his arms on them.

"Oh, and I suppose you'd be an expert then, Aerith? I wouldn't know. I don't think love exists, whether a 'silly, hot feeling', 'something deeper than that', or otherwise. It's all in the mind."

Aerith looked irritated by his little philosophical speech.

"As you say, Cloud, you don't know. How can you talk about something you don't know anything about?"

"Okay, okay," he brushed aside the comment. "So what happened in the end?"

* * *

Zack was stationed in Sector Five for several months after that. We didn't stop seeing each other and had surprisingly grown quite close. At least it was a surprise to me, because by now I'd obviously heard a lot about his reputation. I should have known that it wouldn't have lasted. 

It happened one cool evening. I was out doing my usual job of selling flowers, when I suddenly saw him approaching me. He looked decidedly agitated, but his face lightened up as he greeted me.

"Aerith! Hi!"

I walked up to meet him.

"Zack! I thought you were on patrol with others today."

He shook his head.

"I got the day off. Listen, I was wondering. There's somewhere I'd like to take you. Do you think you could leave the flowers for an afternoon and come with me?"

I nodded. "Of course I could."

He looked relieved. "Great, let's go."

Zack led me through a place I did not know. After a while of walking, I began to feel uneasy.

"Zack, where are we going?"

He did not answer, but lead me through a long, dark ally. I began to feel frightened all of a sudden. I began to think wildly of how I should not have trusted him, that maybe he'd rape me, then turn me over to the Turks.

"Zack..."

He shushed me. "Wait, we're nearly there."

I fell into a quiet. I couldn't find the presence of mind to run away now. Besides, there was no point in turning back either. I had no choice but to follow close by him. We soon reached to the tall ruin of a building.

"Inside here," Zack prompted. I went inside. Everything in the building had fallen apart and I found myself standing in the middle of broken bits of glass and wood. Zack followed me in.

"Zack ,where are we?" I asked nervously.

"We're in a church," he answered, looking pleased with himself. I looked around warily and saw that it was a church. The pews were still in place, the wood rotting. The stained glass windows had been smashed in, except for a few at the front of the church. Above where the altar had once been a life-size crucifix was still hanging. I took in a short breath.

"It's beautiful."

Zack walked up beside me and nodded.

"Sure is." He walked past me, then beckoned to me. "Come here."

I followed him to the front of the church. Wordlessly, he pointed to the ground. The floorboards had been stripped to the earth. In their place, a few yellow primroses had begun to grow.

"Zack! Flowers!"

He had an expression of immense pleasure on his face. "Yep. Flowers."

I got down on my knees and looked at them. "Why?" I asked, unable to say anything else. He knelt down next to me.

"It's a gift, that's all. From me to you."

I found myself hugging him in a rush.

"Zack! That's so kind of you! Thanks so much! You shouldn't have!"

"Why not?" There was a sardonic grin on his face.

I shrugged wordlessly in reply and fingered the petals of the yellow flowers softly in the silence. Soon he spoke again, and I could not see his face.

"Aerith? There's something I've been meaning to tell you."

"Oh? What's that?"

A Shinra soldier appearing at the entrance of the church interrupted us.

"Zack! Here you are!" he exclaimed. "We've got to go now. The boss'll get pissed."

Zack turned to him, a dismayed look on his face.

"Hang on, I'll be down in a minute."

The man left sharpish. I turned to Zack, puzzled.

"Where are you going?"

He stood up and ran a hand disconcertedly through his hair.

"I'm leaving Midgar," he said in a subdued tone. I shot up.

"Leaving!"

He nodded. "Yeah. That's what I was trying to tell you. You see, I've got an important job west of here. A once in a life-time job."

"One you can't refuse?" I probed.

"I guess you could say that."

I hung my head. "So...I guess this is goodbye," I said, a lump beginning to form in my throat. He shook his head vehemently.

"No, not goodbye." he took in a deep breath. "I promise you, I'll come back when it's over."

"You promise?"

There was a sad look in his eyes. "Don't you trust me?"

I gave him a watery smile that was meant to assure him that I did. The man appeared again at the door.

"Zack...!"

Zack turned to him. "Okay, just a minute!" The man disappeared for a second time and Zack turned back to me. "Well...goodbye then."

"...Goodbye."

He gazed into my eyes again and then turned to go. He hadn't walked more than five steps when, quite suddenly, he stopped and turned. I looked back at him expectantly. Silently, he walked back toward me and gripped me by the shoulders, though not severely. For a long time he looked at me, then he kissed me suddenly, very hard. I was astonished at first. I had never felt so much feeling in him, so much emotion. I closed my eyes and held him. My heart, I felt, was breaking.

He finally released me and there was no more need to say goodbye. He turned again, this time for the last time. I watched him go, leave me. It seemed that I stood watching a long time after he'd left. I began to cry bitterly about five minutes after he'd left my sight.

I never saw Zack again.

* * *

Cloud didn't know what to say. 

"You loved him, right?" he finally managed, but almost immediately regretted it. Aerith stared candidly back at him. They had become accustomed to the dark and he could see a trace of tears shining in her eyes.

"Love?" she repeated. "I don't think I'd admit to that. I was only young then. Things have changed." She sighed and wiped at her eyes fiercely, as though the tears had betrayed her. Cloud suddenly felt tired, much to his relief. He'd begun to believe he'd never go to sleep.

"You know," she said finally "I wonder what happened to him now. It's the truth; I really had blocked his memory out for so long. It's so weird to have told you everything."

"Do you regret telling me?" he asked.

"No."

After a moment, she looked up and held his eyes.

"Cloud?"

"Hmmm."

"I..." Her mouth remained open, but nothing came out. She clamped it shut, then tried to begin again. "Cloud, thanks for listening to me," her voice began an almost inaudible whisper. "It's good talking to you."

He thought, in an instant, of how strikingly beautiful she was, even in the dark. He pulled the covers over him.

"It's good talking to you too." he whispered back, then finished the sentence off in his mind.

It's good listening to you. It's good looking at you, and thinking of you, and waiting for you, Aerith.

Waiting for her? Waiting for what?

Cloud watched her lie back in bed, suddenly aware of how his thoughts had spiralled out of control. Guiltily, he rested his head on the pillow and turned her story round and round in his head. Something wasn't right, he thought. Something didn't fit.

"Cloud?"

Her voice caused him to cease the questioning of it all.

"Yes?"

Her voice returned, soft and silent.

"Goodnight Cloud."

He remembered her face.

"Goodnight Aerith."

* * *

_Next: The entrance of a certain materia thief..._


	18. PART 2 An Errant Ninja

**Disclaimer:** Characters belong to Square-Enix.

**A/N:** I finally got to watch FF7: Advent Children! All FF7 fans must watch this film, the last scene makes the years of waiting completely worthwhile:D

-oOo-**

* * *

**

**: Chapter Nine : An Errant Ninja**

The sun was setting; it was cold, and there was darkness. For a long time now, the tide had been drawing in, closer. He liked it here. Solitary, lonely, and the air, sharp and cold. The sun was disappearing.

Sephiroth was sitting in the sand, and the water was coming in. With knees hunched up to his chin, he stared out to sea. He liked to watch it, in and out, in and out. He had never seen the sea when he was a child. But it was flowing eternity, it went on forever, like the gods - like the Cetra, and the Universe. The wind was whipping through the air now, tossing his hair about his face, and a seagull cried out in the distance, a last goodbye on its way home. The world was shutting down.

Jenova had begun to move.

Sephiroth dreamed of her arms, warm and comforting, a mother's touch on his child's skin. And of suckling the prismatic liquid from her breast. Yes, mother - it was her essence that had given him divine powers. Beautiful mother, a goddess.

But that was only a dream. He could not remember such a thing having happened. All he saw now was a decapitated alien, cold, lifeless, azure-tinted skin, arms that did not hold him. She was alive, but she was dead, she did not feel.

And sometimes, he dreamt of his father, of a gentle, kindly face, of words that filled inside him such love and pride that he felt as though he would die with it. No, that was not true - that was only Dr. Gast he was remembering, and he was dead. He was no longer there for Sephiroth, he'd gone long ago.

"Why did you die, Dr. Gast, why did you leave me behind?"

He was angry, it was the only thing that could fill the deep chasm of loneliness.

"Why did he go...?...If only...But don't worry, mother, we'll be all right...we'll rule the Planet..."

It was dark. The sun had dipped beneath the line of the ocean. It was only him, him and his lifeless mother. The world was rootless, there was no rock to lean on; no proof of existence, no nothing.

Sephiroth dropped his head. Alone and in the dark, the water was rising to his feet. For the first time in many, many years, the tears trembled in his eyes.

-oOo-

* * *

Early sunlight had woken Cloud up, and dreams of darkness had been put aside. He had been mildly disconcerted to find that the others had ventured into Gongaga anyway, and were already eating a hearty breakfast - due, apparently, to Cait Sith's ravenous hunger. After joining them at the table, and generally marvelling at the toy cat's amazing appetite, they decided it was time to go. The land was well forested, and the group soon found that they were lost deep in the woodland. 

Cloud, though given the task of finding their way out of the maze-like forest, was not wholly preoccupied with doing so. He'd had a dream last night, one that had uneased him. Since he had last heard the mysterious voice talking to him in his dreams, he'd been waiting for it to reappear again, to challenge him with those unanswerable questions.

But last night had been different. He'd dreamt of Zack, but in his dream, _he_ had been Zack. He could not remember what had happened exactly, but even though he'd never even seen Zack before in his life, he'd known that he had been him, he'd known everything about Zack. And then Sephiroth had appeared.

Cloud started. Yes, that had been it: he'd been Zack, and he'd been in a large white room, with a mirror. He'd gazed at himself inside, and he had been neither Cloud, nor Zack. His reflection had been that of Sephiroth.

"These woods," Cait Sith groaned, interrupting Cloud's thoughts, "I don't know. They're like mazes to me. Each tree looks the same. It's impossible to tell where you are."

"Yeah, Cloud," Barret grumbled, "This is ridiculous. You've got us even more lost than we were in the beginning."

Cloud waggled his hand above his head in aggravation.

"Shut up, you guys! I'm trying to concentrate on getting us out of here, in case you hadn't noticed."

"Bloody shit load of good it's doin' us," Barret swore under his breath.

They had not walked more than a hundred yards, when there was a sudden torrent of rustling from a nearby bush. Each one of them stood still looking at one another in suspense.

"What was that?" Aerith whispered, but no sooner had she said it than a deafening war cry suddenly emanated from the shrubbery. Cloud swung round in confusion and was instantly knocked flat by the quick swipe of someone's foot against his temple. Falling down amongst the leaves and grass, he looked up to see who was his assailant.

He found himself looking up into the face of a young girl, who couldn't have been much more than sixteen years old. She was dressed in strange-looking fringed clothes and in her hand she held an enormous, razor-sharp shuriken. She stared back at him with an intensely violent look on her fresh face as he attempted to get up.

"Stay down on the ground!" she bellowed at him in a voice that was surprisingly commanding for someone her age. "I said stay down on the _ground_!"

She shoved the weapon toward his face and looked menacingly toward the others.

"One move out of you lot and this punk gets it, okay?"

Barret crossed his arms.

"I knew he wasn't cut out to lead us," he muttered. The girl jutted out her jaw indignantly.

"Would you SHUT IT, buster? I told you not to move. Otherwise, this punk's face gets spiked."

Barret shrugged.

"Go ahead."

"I said _SHUT IT_!"

Everyone looked dumbly at her and she gave a smug, satisfied smile.

"Great, now that I've got your attention, let's get down to business," she began in an efficient fashion. "Hand over your materia."

Not a word or a movement was made in reply. The girl stood up straight and gave a cry of exasperation.

"Are you guys deaf as well as stupid!" She began to wave her shuriken threateningly in the air. "I said hand over your materia!"

"Hey, you shouldn't do that," Cait Sith warned in a concerned tone of voice. "You might hurt someone, waving that thing around like that."

She glared at him with a mixture of disbelief and vexation on her face.

"That's what this is for, you dumb retarded cat!" she spat out, forgetting to brandish her weapon. Cloud took the opportunity to free himself. As quick as thought he grabbed her foot about the ankle and gave it a sharp yank. With a yell of surprise, the girl stumbled backwards, but didn't quite fall over. Cloud leaped up and smashed her in the side of the face with his fist. She toppled over with the force of the strike, landing heavily on a patch of green ferns.

Cloud staggered over toward her, holding the side of his throbbing head. She seemed to be out cold. Sighing in relief, he turned to the others.

"Is she okay?" Tifa asked, still not daring to move. He nodded.

"Yeah, I think so."

Red shook his head as he walked toward the girl. He nudged her head with his snout.

"Yes, I think she's all right. What a shame that even youth such as this is seduced by today's greed."

Barret lumbered up to look at her.

"Damn, she's a young 'un for all this materia hunting business." He pulled a face at Cloud. "You should know by now that us 'men' don't hit girls."

Cloud shrugged atthe scolding.

"Hey, did you want me to risk being stabbed in the face by that maniac?"

"As I said," Barret retorted, "I don't mind."

Aerith spoke before Cloud and Barret could continue the argument any further.

"Are you all right, Cloud? That was some whack she gave you back there."

"I'm fine," Cloud turned back and bent over the girl. Her eyelids were beginning to flicker and her fingers were twitching. "Oh hell, she's coming round."

Gently, Cloud slapped the side of her face. The girl opened her eyes slowly, seeming quite dazed as she stared at Cloud without recognition. Moaning, she tried to sit up, but promptly fell back into the bracken.

"Are you okay?" Cloud murmured, trying not to jar her obviously aching head. However, his concern was quite uncalled for. As soon as she heard his voice, she sprang up from the ground, all sign of her pain having disappeared. She stood up straight and pointed at him, glowering.

"You! I don't believe I lost to _you_!"

Unable to find her weapon, she began to jab at the air with her fists at him.

"Come on, again! Let's go again, you spiky-headed jerk!"

"Hey, I don't want to fight you!" Cloud protested, raising his hands. "You're just a girl!"

The girl stuck out her lower lip.

"God, you wuss! What's your game, anyway?"

Tifa interrupted cuttingly.

"Who're you calling a wuss! Haven't you ever heard of manners!"

"Hey, who asked you, boobs!" the girl replied. "Besides, your Cloud here already hit me, didn't he?" She pointed to the bruise on her cheek. After a momentary silence, she looked at the group with a conceited expression.

"Hey...you're scared of me, aren't you. Come on, admit it."

"Yeah," Cloud replied sarcastically. "We're petrified."

At his mocking tone she crossed her arms and glared round at them.

"Wow, what a bunch of misfits you are! Two really weird talking animals, Mr. T, a snotty bitch with boobs, a pretty-pretty mummy's girl, and a wuss for a leader! I wonder where you crawled out from? Guess I was mistaken in thinking you lot had any materia!"

She turned to leave, ignoring their looks of disgruntled annoyance at her insults. When she'd walked a little way, she suddenly turned around.

"I'm really going. _Really_."

Cloud thought a moment. This girl was acting in a stupidly blatant manner. It was obvious she craved attention and was looking to them for it. Two could play at that game, Cloud thought. Besides, he needed someone with skill like her. He took a step forward.

"Hey, wait a minute! P-Please don't go!"

Everyone shot Cloud weird looks, but he said nothing. The girl stopped abruptly and looked up at him hopefully, although it was evident she was trying to disguise it.

"What? You want me to come with you?"

Cloud nodded.

"Well...yeah... I mean,you're a good ninja. We could sure do with someone like you - if you don't mind hanging with a bunch of misfits, that is."

She grinned and ran back toward them.

"I'm beginning to think you're not so bad after all, electro-hair. All right - I'll come with you. I guess I can stand hanging with a bunch of losers - maybe I can do wonders for your style, eh?"

Cloud turned quickly. Better not overdo it, he thought.

"Right!" he called to the others "Let's get going!"

They all caught his drift. Walking off and leaving the girl behind, Cloud's reverse psychology had assured her loyalty as their newest follower.

"Hey! Hey!" she began to shout. "Wait for me! I haven't even told you my name yet! _Hey_!"

They did not stop walking, until Cloud heard her panting behind him and felt her hand on his shoulder.

"Okay, okay! That was pretty smart. You win, Mr. Wise-Guy."

He turned on her.

"If you want to join us, you've got to play by the rules, okay? I don't want any insults, and I don't want you taking any of our materia, right?"

She nodded immediately, an oddly steadfast gleam in her eyes. "Right."

Cloud relaxed a little.

"Well, that's sorted then."

"Great," the girl replied. "Now that that's all over, do you all wanna know my name or what?"

"Sure," Cloud shrugged. "Go ahead."

The girl smirked and lifted her shuriken up over her shoulder with an athletic arm.

"The name's Yuffie Kisaragi. I'm a princess."

"A princess?" Cait Sith looked at her suspiciously. She glowered at him.

"Hey, what's your problem, moggy? I'm a princess from a faraway land called Wutai."

"Then why are you in a place like this?" Red asked her, obviously disbelieving her.

"Because I hate Wutai, all right? I hate being a princess, it's boring. So I'm thieving materia for my hobby. It's so much more interesting."

"But Wutai's a tourist spot," Aerith put in. "It's a place where rich people go on holiday. Why would it have a princess?"

Yuffie scowled, strangely irritated.

"It just does, okay?" she changed the subject. "Actually, I'm getting bored thieving materia, so I thought it'd be cool to hang out with you guys."

"But you said we were misfits," Barret replied hotly. Yuffie shrugged.

"Well, aren't I a misfit too? Besides, you won't go unrewarded. I can cook the best Wutainese barbecue ever!"

"Oh goody!" Cait Sith squealed. "Wutainese barbecue!"

Cloud stared at his newest companion suspiciously. He was still dubious as to whether she was a trustworthy follower or not. She caught the look and she spoke to him as severely as she could manage.

"Listen. I know what you're thinking. But for once, I'm serious. You can trust me a hundred per cent!" She slapped Barret on the back with a hard hand. "Now, how 'bout telling me all of your names!"

* * *

After introducing themselves, Yuffie insisted that she knew the way out of the forest, and it was not long before they found themselves back next to the Buggy. 

"See!" Yuffie began triumphantly, "I told you you can rely on me!"

The party of now seven bundled into the vehicle and continued west along the coast, hoping for any sign of Sephiroth, rather unsuccessfully. It seemed that he had slipped out of their grasp, and had travelled on to whatever destination he was aiming to get to. There was nothing to do except keep on travelling, and hoping that someone would at least have seen his whereabouts. While they were scoring the land they were passing through, their time was occupied with explaining to Yuffie the point of their quest, filling the determined young girl with much awe and admiration.

Soon, the lush forests and fertile pastures gave way to the wonderful and swooping valleys and canyons of the southern regions of the New Continent. A setting sun delved under the rising clusters of mountains separated by their deep ravines, and bathed the surrounding area in a rich, golden light. The chocolate brown of the canyons seemed to come alive with the tawny light.

Red, in the back of the Buggy, began to grow noticeably restless. His eye glistened as it passed over the rapidly scrolling scenery of golden beauty. He began to growl softly, a purring, crooning sort of sound.

"Red, anything wrong?" Cloud turned back in his front seat, but before the question could be answered, the engine began to gasp and splutter, choking the Buggy to an abrupt halt. Swearing to themselves, the group filed out of the truck.

"Damn it, this has to happen now!" Cloud sighed, lifting up the engine cover only to be met by a stifling and overpowering blast of smoke. Coughing, he waved at the cloud with his hand.

"What's wrong with it?" Barret asked, peering inside the motor shaft.

"I don't know anything about cars," Cloud said, regretfully.

"Only motorbikes," Aerith added comically.

Yuffie stepped in solemnly.

"Let _me_ handle this."

Taking a step backwards and a deep breath in, she whacked the side of the car with a hefty kick from her foot, only to end up sprawled on the floor, clutching a wounded toe. Cloud helped her up gently.

"Hey, it's no good. Isn't there a place round here that can fix this thing?"

To everyone's immense surprise, Red suddenly bounded off, over the rocky land and up into a ridge, out of sight. Everyone looked at each other in confusion.

"Where's he gone?" Yuffie asked, dazed.

Cloud shrugged.

"Let's go after him."

The six rushed after Red's footsteps and into the rocky hills. As they turned a corner, they saw that they had come to the bottom of a flight of steps that had been hewn into the rock face. Red was at the top of it, beckoning to them.

"Up here, up here!"

Very much perplexed, they ran up the stairs to where Red was standing. Reaching the top, they all stood and stared up. Resting in the side of the mountain was a beautiful village, cheerful and welcoming, nestling its tiny community and stone-hewn huts away from the world. Ladders led up to the highest houses, and beaded curtains as doorways. The highlights of the village glowed out radiantly to the outsiders. On their level, a raging bonfire sat in the centre of the tiny town, glittering and casting its finger-like shadows in the falling sun. On the furthermost tip of the range sat a large telescope protruding from a circular dome, pointing toward the violet sky. It obviously belonged to a planetary observatory of some sort. The whole town had the aura of some lost ancient city, the kind that the great archaeologists of past centuries had uncovered in their fruitless search for the cities of the Cetra.

Cloud looked back down at Red.

"Where are we?"

Red gazed back at him proudly.

"This is Cosmo Canyon, my hometown. And this is where my journey with you ends."

Before Cloud could begin to reason with him, a man came running up, joy on his face.

"Nanaki! Nanaki, you're home!"

Red welcomed him as the man approached.

"Kanta! I am glad to be back. How have things been here in Cosmo Canyon?"

Kanta nodded easily.

"Oh fine, I think." He looked at the others grouped around Red suspiciously. "Who are these people?"

"These are my friends," Red replied, introducing them one by one."I trust you'll make them welcome. They have a Buggy outside that needs repairing. Could you help them fix it?"

"Of course." Kanta nodded at Cloud amiably. "Any friends of Nanaki are friends of ours." He turned back to Red. "Nanaki, your grandfather is eager to see you again. If you would go up to his room now..."

Red perked up considerably.

"Grandfather!" he growled, and ran off into the distance, up a flight of stairs and into a building near to the telescope dome.

Cloud stared after him, amazed.

"So Red's real name is Nanaki?"

Kanta looked at him, confused.

"Red? Nanaki's Nanaki, nothing else. He's our protector."

"I see," Cloud replied, astonished at the whole affair. Kanta led him through to the heart of the village solemnly.

"I must thank you for taking care of him. In repayment, please accept our hospitality. There are many places you might like to visit here. Cosmo Canyon is a very special place."

Cloud looked at him questioningly and he hastened to explain.

"Cosmo Canyon is a place where we study the science of the Planet. But not only that, the meaning of the Planet, its existence. Our chief elder, Bugenhagen, knows all about it. He's Nanaki's guide in life. He knows more about life and the Planet than anyone else in this world."

Aerith stopped walking and stood stock-still.

"He knows of the Planet?"

Kanta nodded.

"Yes." He pointed to the telescope on the top of the mountain. "That's his observatory, up there. Inside his laboratory, he learns about a special subject called Planet Metaphysics."

Aerith looked troubled suddenly.

"I must see this man. He may be able to tell me about the Cetra."

Kanta was obliging.

"If you follow Nanaki up those steps, you'll find him."

As Aerith made her way toward Bugenhagen's room, Cloud suddenly felt as though he should follow her. If this man did know of the Cetra, then maybe he would be able to explain the meaning of Sephiroth's existence also.

Leaving the others behind with Kanta, he ran after her to Bugenhagen's observatory.

-oOo-

* * *

_Next: The team learn a little more about the Planet and the Ancients..._


	19. PART 2 The Valley of Falling Stars

**Disclaimer: **Characters belong to Square-Enix, not me. :(

**A/N:** Thanks to all of you who commented. I'll try and reply to you all individually. **Mystic-Hoshi: **Thanks for reading, I hope you continue to enjoy it:D **MP:** Thanks, I'm glad I can be of some help in enlightening you about the storyline. I'm trying to be as accurate to the game as I can - there are some things I've tweaked here and there, or missed out because they're superfluous to the story, yet great in the gameplay...but mostly, everything's there. :) **EchoCompany:** Yeah, I know! I have nothing against Tifa at all, I don't get the attitude some people have that you must either be a Cloti or Clorith fan... :p **asga: **Yup, now I'm really confused as to whether Aerith's still alive or not...! **elvenarchress:** Thanks for the valid comment. Yup, this story is about, I'd say 85-90 percent loyal to the original game. Let me explain - I've added a few things just to make it flow better than the game did, and taken away a few things for the same reason, (but only things that aren't really needed for the storyline, even though they worked for the gameplay). I've even copied some dialogue word for word from the game! But the reason why Cloud seems out-of-character is complicated. **(SPOILER AHEAD!)** Cloud was a failed clone of Sephiroth, which sent him over the edge. In the game his best friend, Zack (the guy with the spiky black hair in the flashbacks in the movie) helped him to escape from the Shinra. He sacrificed his life to save Cloud. At his death Cloud went kinda crazy, and totally took on Zack's identity. Through 90 percent of the game Cloud isn't really 'Cloud', he pretends to be Zack. Zack was a bit cocky by nature, so Cloud is sometimes cocky and aloof in the game. When he finds out he was 'stealing' his friend's life, he's humbled. And that's why Cloud's character may seem different to the way it is in the movie.

Whew! Anyway, onto the story... Please continue to read, review, and most of all, enjoy...

-Ludi

-oOo-**

* * *

**

**: Chapter Ten : The Valley of Falling Stars**

Cloud caught up with Aerith on the steps to Bugenhagen's laboratory. She stared up at him as he came up beside her.

"Cloud?"

"Aerith, can I come with you," he began, "to hear about the Cetra?"

She nodded slowly.

"Yes. Of course you can."

They travelled up to the room and pulled back the beaded curtain. Behind it was a cosy, miniature room, with a small dining table, bed and stove to one corner. In the room was a bald old man standing on a floating platform. His long white beard fell on to his rich purple cloak in an avalanche, and dark glasses had covered his sightless eyes. He had the demeanour of some sort of wise sage, and his skin was so withered that Cloud could not help but think that he must be several hundred years old at least. Red was standing beside him, an avid expression on his face. As the two entered, the old man's ears seemed to prick up.

"Nanaki, tell me who has entered," he demanded in a gravelly, wizened voice. "Their auras suggest to me that they are strangers."

"Don't worry, Grandfather," Red assured. "These are my friends - Cloud and Aerith. Cloud, Aerith, this is my grandfather, Bugenhagen."

The old man smiled a glittering, yet somehow gentle smile.

"Ah. I am pleased to make your acquaintance. Nanaki has told me about you. I am indebted to you for taking care of him."

"Are you really Red's grandfather?" Cloud inquired, unable to get used to the beast's real name. Bugenhagen's shrivelled face remained locked in good-humour.

"Dear me, no! I'm Nanaki's guardian! Nanaki needs guidance. He is only a boy after all."

"A boy?" Cloud repeated, surprised.

"I'm forty-eight years old, Grandfather," Red cut in gruffly, but Bugenhagen laughed.

"Forty-eight in human earth years, but fifteen in the life-span of your tribe, Nanaki. Remember that."

"He's only fifteen!" Cloud echoed. "But I thought..."

"No." The old man shook his head. "He seems to act wise for his age, and this fools people. But he is still a child. As protector of our village, he still has much to learn."

Red hung his head.

"Grandfather, I want to be an adult. I want to be wise, like you."

Bugenhagen stroked his beard sternly.

"Nanaki, your time will come. You do not just suddenly become an adult. It is a transition that requires maturity and self-perception. Until you have realised these things, what you wish will remain firmly out of your grasp."

Aerith spoke up quietly.

"Please, Bugenhagen, there is something very important that I have to ask you."

Bugenhagen started as if he had been shot. A light began to illuminate his face, and as he floated over to them on his hovering platform, it remained there on his craggy aged features.

"Ah. One of the Cetra, I sense. I have not seen one of the Cetra for over a hundred years."

Aerith stared at the man with a mixture of surprise, eagerness and uncertainty.

"Then you know me? You know who I am!"

"I would know your kind anywhere," he replied benevolently. "But as for me knowing _who_ you are - well, I know most things, but not all. I cannot see inside your soul, my dear."

"But you can feel me?"

Bugenhagen stood thoughtfully for a minute, then advanced toward her. Gently reaching out his arms, his wrinkled fingers felt against the contours of her face. Aerith looked startled for a moment, and then she closed her eyes, letting his fingers run over her lids. For a minute or so Bugenhagen did this, an expression of great concentration on his face. Then he lowered his hands and turned away, quivering. Aerith's eyes flew open and she stared at him in consternation.

"What! What is it!"

Bugenhagen floated a little further away, and did not turn back to face them.

"Forgive me for moving away," he said into the silence, his voice dry. "But you are very powerful, too powerful for the likes of me. You are stronger than you know."

Aerith moved forward, then checked herself, and stepped back.

"Bugenhagen," she asked earnestly, "I don't understand what you mean. I am not strong. I hardly know what it is I must do as the last of the Cetra. You must help me."

Bugenhagen seemed to recover somewhat. He turned back to them, and shook his head regretfully.

"I'm afraid my dear, that I cannot help you. The Planet is my area of study, not the Cetra."

"But you know me!" she answered desperately.

He stilled her.

"Aerith, you must ask the other elders. They will tell you what they know."

Aerith lowered her head. As she did so, Cloud saw the muscles in her throat tighten. She was trying to stop herself from crying, he realised, and he felt stunned. He had not known that her role as one of the Cetra had troubled her so much. He suddenly felt that he must help her or comfort her in some way, but he quickly pushed the emotion down, and it disappeared almost as soon as it had come.

Red spoke.

"Grandfather, Cloud and the others are on a quest to save the Planet. Maybe you should show them your laboratory."

Bugenhagen seemed tickled by the statement.

"Saving the Planet? It isn't possible."

"Why not?" Cloud asked, puzzled at the man's amusement.

"Because," Bugenhagen replied, "the Planet is dying. It may be tomorrow or in a hundred years time, but it's soon."

"But how do you know?" Cloud questioned, shocked.

Bugenhagen drifted slowly over to the end of the room, turned his back on the others and crossed his arms behind his back.

"Because I can hear the cries of the Planet."

"Cries?"

"Shh," the old man interrupted. "Listen."

Cloud raised his head, listened. At first, he could hear not a single thing. Then, faintly on the silent atmosphere of the room, like a distant call, floating, rising, he could hear the 'cries' of the Planet. He started. The sound was something he'd never heard before. It was a howl, a low moan, swaying against a bitter wind, a voice full of indescribable pain. It was a sound people had forgotten to hear, forgotten _how_ to hear.

Bugenhagen spoke, causing Cloud to lose the sound.

"See? That cry, it says to us 'I hurt, I die'. And yet, we do not heed it - indeed, we do not even hear it."

"But what hope have we got of saving the Planet then?" Cloud asked hopelessly.

Bugenhagen did not answer, but glided over to a wooden door at the side of the room.

"Let me show you how the Planet works," he said, and he unlocked the door with a rusty key and threw it open. He gestured for them to enter, and Cloud, Aerith and Red walked in together.

Inside was a tiny, circular, dimly lit room. In the centre of the room was some sort of platform, and around it were various mechanical devices. As Bugenhagen ushered them on to the platform, Cloud saw that the room was actually an observational dome. Looking up into the glass spherical ceiling, he found he could pick out the signs of the solar systems painted on it.

As he and Aerith gazed up in awe at the fresco, Bugenhagen moved to one of the contraptions at the side of the room and turned on a light. The chamber began to buzz with a sudden life, and the paintings on the ceiling rapidly bounded away from the glass dome and became real and animate, like a real model of the Solar System. Cloud could clearly make out the golden Sun, the mighty Jupiter, Saturn and its icy rings: and surely there was the Planet itself, a modest jewel in the middle of the sprawling galaxy.

Cloud turned to face Bugenhagen.

"What is this?"

Bugenhagen travelled to the centre of the platform.

"This is a 3D Holographic System. It is a miniature model of the Solar System, linked to the Shinra's computer mainframe in Midgar. It shows everything that's happening in the skies at this very moment." He stooped over to pull a lever. "Now, let's begin."

With a jerk, the platform raised itself from the ground and up into the heart of the dome. Cloud felt himself hold in a sharp breath. It seemed he was actually amongst the planets and stars. They hung about him like the real-life thing, travelling slowly on their orbits, rotating in the blackness of the Universe. A shooting star whizzed right past Aerith's nose, causing her to jump in fright, its misty tail trailing behind it like a speeding haze. Following its course across the glittering heavens, it was suddenly sucked out of its path by a whirling black hole, never to return.

Aerith gasped in wonderment.

"It's beautiful."

Bugenhagen nodded.

"The Universe is a beautiful place. But let us turn to somewhere closer to us."

He made his way to the figure of the Planet, using his memory and senses, rather than his now lost sight. It circled lazily round the flaming Sun, its green landmasses and blue seas clearly distinguishable on it's orb-like form.

"Are you acquainted with the study of Planet Metaphysics?" Bugenhagen addressed them. Cloud shook his head.

"No, I've never heard of it."

"Then let me enlighten you. As you all know, when we die, our bodies decompose, and we join the Planet."

"Yes, of course. Everyone knows that."

"Indeed." Bugenhagen nodded gravely. "But not so many people are aware that it is not only our bodies that go through this transition. Not only living matter, but also our consciousness, our hearts and souls are all chanelled into the Planet once we die. All living beings have the same thing happen to them - plants, trees, animals, birds and fish."

He followed the Planet slowly, and, extending his arm toward the planetoid, pointed out a faint pinpoint of glowing green in the middle of the land mass.

"But I don't understand," Cloud interrupted slowly. "Why does the Planet need our souls as well? I thought our souls went some place else. To heaven, for instance. Or the Promised Land."

Bugenhagen smiled, amused

"That's up to you to decide. How can you be sure what the Promised Land, or indeed heaven, is? But, just the same, it is true. All living things join the Planet and merge. They roam the Planet with one another, roam, converge, divide and swell into a being called the Lifestream."

"Lifestream...?" Cloud murmured, remembering.

"Yes, it is a path of souls, drifting through the Planet, a kind of spirit energy. This spirit energy will bless the children brought into this world, then, when they die, it returns to the Planet."

He smiled gently down at Cloud, Aerith and his grandson.

"Spirit energy makes _all_ things possible. It makes planets planets - and if this energy is reft from the planet, the planet will die. Indeed, spirit energy is efficient _because_ it exists with in nature.

"However, when it is forcefully extracted and manufactured, it can't accomplish its true purpose. This produces Mako energy. Reactors use all living things and throw them away. And the terrible thing is that the loss of the Lifestream will corrupt the people: there will no longer be enough spirit energy to bless the children."

He raised his hand, and the Lifestream was sucked away from the Planet, leaving it barren and broken. Bugenhagen stared round at them soberly.

"In the end, Mako energy will destroy the Planet. It is already destroying our world. The life that we give it and that it gives us is being drained away. The cry of the Planet grows louder every day. It breaks my heart that I must hear it so."

Cloud gazed back at him wordlessly. Silently, Bugenhagen hovered over to the lever, and pulled it back so that the platform descended back down into the observational room. Turning off the lights, he turned to them.

"This is how the Planet works. The Lifestream is functional for its life."

Cloud put a finger to his lips pensively.

"Is there anything we can do to prevent the death of the Planet?"

Bugenhagen shook his head remorsefully.

"Even if you destroy every Mako Reactor on the Planet, it would only postpone the inevitable. There is no hope for the Planet now. It is too late."

He went out of the room, Cloud, Aerith and Red following behind. Closing and locking the door firmly, he turned to them.

"Please feel free to use my machine whenever you need it. If you ever need my wisdom, you are welcome to visit. I'm afraid I may not be in this world much longer to help you, so you'd better make the most of my offer while you can."

"Grandfather, please don't talk like this..." Red spoke up, upset, but Bugenhagen shook his head morosely.

"Nanaki, surely you know by now that I am in the winter of my life. I will not be here for you forever."

Before Red could reply, someone entered into the room. Another old man, though not half as grizzled as Bugenhagen, shuffled into the room.

"Bugenhagen, there are strange visitors to our village. What do you want us to do?"

Bugenhagen looked at him with unconcern for his question.

"Ah, Hargo, you are here." He addressed Aerith. "Aerith, this is Hargo, one of our elders. His job is to chronicle the history of the Planet. He will tell you what you need to know." He looked back to Hargo. "Hargo, tell her what you know of the Ancients."

Hargo, looking puzzled, obediently led Aerith out of the room. Once they had left, Cloud paced the room quietly.

"What I don't understand," he began reflectively, "is how this fits into Sephiroth's plans to rule the Planet. Sephiroth says he is of the Cetra, that he is heir to this Planet. Does he know of the Lifestream too?"

"You must follow the girl," Bugenhagen returned. "That is all I can say."

"Thank you, Bugenhagen," Cloud replied with heartfelt sincerity.

* * *

Cloud left the room, and looked for Aerith. In a chamber next to Bugenhagen's, he heard rustling. Peering inside, he saw Hargo looking in a large wooden crate through many yellowing, crumbling parchments. Aerith was sitting at a small table nearby, watching him attentively. She stared up at Cloud as he entered and smiled a watery smile at him. 

"Cloud..." He sat down beside her and her eyes followed him with a softly sad look on her face that surprised him. "Hargo is trying to find some old documents for me on the Ancients."

Cloud stared over at the man.

"Do you think that what he's about to tell you, Sephiroth knows already?"

Aerith was silent for a moment.

"I don't know. It doesn't matter."

Hargo finally found the parchments and looked over them carefully.

"Yes, this is it." He handed the paper to Aerith, who received it gratefully. "This is a book that was discovered in the last century by one of our elders. It is simply entitled '_The Book of the Ancients_'. Many pages have been lost, but there's a passage here that I think will interest you."

Reading it over a while, Aerith suddenly looked up.

"Hargo, this speaks of the Promised Land. Can you tell me about it?"

Hargo sat at the table across from her, folded his hands.

"The Promised Land doesn't exist for humans. It is a place that none of us mere mortals can hope to find."

"Could you tell me how to find it?" she asked.

"No." He shook his head. "All I know is that it is the resting place of the Ancients. It is their burial ground. When their journey is finished, they will reside in this place. They will be released from their fate and will gain supreme happiness."

Aerith her head and looked down at the paper in her hand.

"Supreme happiness..."

Hargo nodded.

"We simple folk have lost our claim to this paradise. But if you are truly the last..." he received back the parchment from her, "...then that is your inheritance."

"I don't understand," Cloud broke in heatedly. "You mean the Cetra haven't got a claim to ruling the Planet? That all they do is travel on this 'journey' and then get buried in the Promised Land?"

Hargo stretched his gnarled arms behind his head.

"In simple words, I suppose that's right. Though only the Cetra could tell you the truth."

"No." Aerith suddenly said quietly, looking down at her clasped hands meditatively. "The Promised Land...the journey...it's more than just that...more than just enlightenment."

Cloud turned to her.

"What do you mean?"

"That it's more than I at first thought." She did not look at him. "It's something to do with...joining the Planet, _being_ the Planet. I think...I'm beginning to understand."

"Then Sephiroth has no claim to ruling the Planet?" he asked her. She did not answer him, but suddenly stood up.

"Thank you Hargo," she acknowledged quietly. "Thank you. You've helped me so much."

"My pleasure," Hargo returned. Before Cloud could ask Aerith anymore about the Cetra and the Promised Land, she had turned and left. Puzzled, and not a little disconcerted, he too thanked the old man and tailed her out.

* * *

Cloud and Aerith wandered back outside to find the others. Cloud was confused. He did not understand anything at all about the Cetra -much less than he had thought at first. And Sephiroth: was it possible that he did not even know the true purpose of his own race? 

They found the others sitting by the bonfire in the centre of the village. They had been sitting silently, staring into the dancing flames of the fire, not one of them talking.

Cloud was surprised at their apparent pensiveness. As he neared them, he noticed that Yuffie was sitting, cross-legged, apart from the others, yawning copiously.

"What's going on?" Cloud asked her, baffled.

She looked up at him and gave another heavy yawn, dropping her chin heftily into her hand.

"As if I know! Red just came back and started goin' on about his parents, an' everyone got sad and started staring into the fire with weird, dreamy looks on their faces." She finished with another yawn and pointed to Aerith, who'd sat down with the others. "See? It's catching! Someone get me away from here!"

Smiling wryly at her, he decided to find out the cause of this sudden outburst of glumness. Sitting down next to Cait Sith, Cloud spoke to him cheerfully.

"Hey, what's up? It isn't like you to look so gloomy. Is there something wrong?"

The toy cat shook his head almost sorrowfully, his furry ears drooping.

"Oh, you know...Memories..."

"Memories?"

"Yeah..." Cait Sith stared into the fire with an expression that seemed so unlike his normal self that Cloud was almost startled. "I wonder when it was that I last came here with the others? Must have been ten odd years ago. They've all changed so much now..."

Cloud gazed over at him sharply.

"Whom are you talking about? The 'others'?"

Cait Sith abruptly broke free of the spell the fire seemed to weaving on him. He looked up and began to laugh nervously.

"Others? Did I say 'others'? Whoopsie."

Cloud shook his head, giving up. He thought of the fortune Cait Sith had told him; _'You will find what you seek, but you will lose something dear to you.'_ What did that mean? He would find Sephiroth? And then lose what? He did not know.

A doleful sigh from Barret next to him caused him to forget about the fortune for the time being. Turning to the larger man, he spoke to him.

"Barret, you okay? Thinking about Dyne?"

The big man stared into the flames, his mouth shut tight, the light in his eyes dull. Cloud bit his lip and looked down at the ground.

"I'm sorry. That was unsubtle of me."

Barret still wore the scowl on his face, and Cloud thought it best not to push the subject any further. However, the larger manbegan to speak of his own accord, his voice low.

"You know something Cloud... it was here that AVALANCHE was born. When me, Biggs, Wedge and Jessie got together...we made this pact." He closed his eyes momentarily, swallowed painfully."When we'd saved the Planet, we'd come here to celebrate the new life of the world. And look at how things are now. They're all dead, and I'm goin' after this 'evil' guy Sephiroth. What am I fightin' for Cloud? I don't even know what any of this is all _for _anymore."

He suddenly stood up and let out a long, lamentable cry that echoed out on to the night sky, thrown over the soaring mountains and valleys, causing everyone to jump.

"This isn't over yet! I'll save the Planet, I swear it! This is justice, justice for Dyne, Biggs, Jessie, Wedge, Marlene...I'm not giving up!"

He sat back down with a thud and buried his head in his hands.

"Just leave me, Cloud," he murmured. "Let me mourn in peace."

Respecting his wishes, Cloud got up and let him be. Sitting between Aerith and Tifa, he stared with them into the fire. The flames licked and popped in the night sky, glowing like fluttering butterflies. Yuffie had been right. Somehow, sitting here in the midst of this sombre mood, it seemed to make you think more, _feel _more. Cloud thought back to the dream he'd had that night, and, for perhaps the fiftieth time, tried to work out what it all meant...

"Bonfires are funny things, aren't they," Tifa suddenly murmured, surprising him. He looked at her, and saw her face, somehow softened by the firelight, her deep brown eyes softly sad. "They make you remember all sorts of things."

She lifted her knees to her chest and cradled her legs in her arms, stared up at him.

"You know, Cloud, five years ago..."

He looked into her beautiful, gentle eyes.

"What? Tell me, Tifa."

She seemed as if she'd tell him for a moment; then she turned away quickly, her eyes resting once again on the crackling inferno.

"Nothing...I'm afraid to ask...I can't say it..." She looked up into the starry indigo sky, and Cloud wondered what it was she needed to say. "Cloud, it feels like you're going...far away."

"Far away?" he resounded, not understanding at all. "But Tifa, I'm here. I'm not going to leave you."

She did not contest his claim. She simply shook her head helplessly and turned away. Cloud gazed at the back of her chestnut-brown head. What was it Tifa was hiding from him? It was another answerless dilemma. He turned to Aerith. Ever since she had arrived in Cosmo Canyon, she seemed to have become more downcast. He spoke softly to her.

"Aerith?"

She looked at him, her countenance much the same as Tifa's.

"Yes, Cloud?"

"What Hargo told you... Are you all right?" he ventured. Again he saw he throat tense, but she forced a small, pale smile nevertheless.

"Yes...I'm fine," she replied quietly, then lowered her voice and continued, "Cloud, the elders have taught me so many things. So many things about the Cetra and the Promised Land. But most of all, now I realise...I'm all alone. All alone."

Her face, so soft and delicate, seemed to glow more radiantly in the luminant shine of the fire, making her features seem small and fragile. Cloud suddenly had the most overwhelming feeling that he must protect her, that he must remain as he'd promised her - her bodyguard.

"But Aerith, I'm...we're all here for you. You're not alone."

She shook her head.

"No. I'm the last. The last of the Cetra. No one can change that."

"Does that mean we can't help?" he persisted.

She said no more, but lowered her eyelids to the ground, signalling the end of their conversation.

Feeling disappointed at her evasiveness, Cloud suddenly lost that inexplicable urge that had just filled him, the urge to protect her. He stood up, wishing that he could recapture that moment. Red was lying a little way off, his crimson fur as bright as the fire. He raised his head as Cloud approached him. His usually wild-looking single eye was filled with a sadness that touched Cloud. He sat down beside the proud and noble animal.

"There's something bothering you, Red," he began kindly. "What is it?"

"I am ashamed," Red replied softly. "More ashamed than I have ever been in my life. It is a disgrace I have never told anyone about."

"Tell me about it," Cloud offered.

Red growled gently and looked at the bonfire.

"When I was small, I remember us all sitting around this flame. It is our sacred light - it never goes out. My grandfather would tell me of the honour of our tribe, of our great war-stories." He paused broodingly. "Those were happy times."

"What happened?" Cloud asked, following Red's gaze into the flames. He could see nothing in them.

"There was a great war, a battle between clans. My parents fought to protect Cosmo Canyon. But my father was a coward. He ran away from my mother in battle, and left her to die for our village." He made a low, throaty sound in his throat, as though angry. "When I think of my mother, I am filled with pride, that she should have given herself so honourably for the life of others. But my father..." he almost shouted the words. "...I am wrought with shame that such a cowardly rogue could have been my father."

"So that is what is worrying you, Nanaki."

Cloud and Red looked up to see Bugenhagen floating toward them solemnly. "You are ashamed of your father."

"Grandfather," Red replied seriously, "you cannot understand the pain my father has caused me. He has made me feel as though I am not worthy to be called protector of Cosmo Canyon."

Bugenhagen thought for a moment.

"Nanaki, there is something I must show you. Come."

Nanaki got up, puzzled. The old man looked at Cloud.

"Cloud, please come with us. I think there is something you must understand about Nanaki."

Cloud got up and followed the two back toward Bugenhagen's room, confused and curious.

What was this secret Bugenhagen was about to show them?

-oOo-

* * *

_Next: Red XIII finds out the truth of his heritage..._


	20. PART 2 Son of Seto

**Disclaimer:** Characters belong to Square-Enix.

**A/N:** Woot! I also got to watch Final Fantasy 7: Last Order too! It's great to see a small portion of FF7 committed to animation, although I have to ask - what happened to all those other Turks? Did AVALANCHE kill them? It's so unfair, I wanna play Before Crisis! TT Anywho, let's go onto the comments. e**lvenarchess:** Cool your boots, man! If I was to list all the little things I've changed, such as dialogue, we'd be here all day! Suffice it to say that so far I haven't changed anything substantially from the game. The only things I've added are the Sephiroth part at the end of the last chapter and Aerith's story about Zack (which she didn't explain in the game at all). None of these things change the course of the original game at all, so don't worry. If I've done any major changes, I'll let you know. As for including Advent Children - I don't think it will be. Actually this story was written 6-7 years ago soon after I first played the game and now I have other commitments and interests. Not to mention I had other ideas about what happened after the game ended (which I've posted here, if you're interested), and I feel it'd be pretty redundant if I wrote Advent Children when I have my own 'view' of how things turned out for Cloud and friends. **stupidisstupiddoes: **(great penname, btw!) Thanks so much for the fav and for the summary! (**SPOILERS AHEAD!)** Don't worry, when I said Cloud was a clone, I didn't mean he was literally a clone of Sephiroth. I simply used that wording because that's what Hojo refers to Cloud as later in the story. No worries, the Cloud/Sephiroth/Zack/Tifa thing will be revealed in due course. :)

-_Ludi x_

-oOo-**

* * *

**

**: Chapter Eleven : Son of Seto**

Bugenhagen led them back into a room near his own. Inside one of the walls in this room was the door that had been built into Cosmo Canyon's very rock-face. The door was a block of thick iron, sealed and bolted. Bugenhagen looked at both Red and Cloud, who were waiting for him expectantly.

"We shall enter this door," the old man said. "But I must warn you, it is dangerous."

"What's inside?" Cloud asked curiously.

"The door leads into the heart of the mountain of Cosmo Canyon and out on to the other side of the valley. Inside are the Caves of the Gi."

"Caves of the Gi?" Red looked alarmed. "But the Gi are our sworn enemies. We can't go in there!"

"Nevertheless," Bugenhagen continued, "we must go through if you are to find yourself, Nanaki."

Whispering some incantations, Bugenhagen unlocked the door and opened it wide for Cloud and Red to enter.

"Let us go through."

Cloud stepped through the dark portal and looked around. They had entered into the bowels of the earth, it seemed: like the Mythril Mines, a natural, ethereal light exuded from between the rocky crevices, flooding the caves and ridges with an eerie glow. Yet, unlike the Mythril Mines, the Caves of the Gishone withan aura of black magic, cold and death-like, smothering in its wicked splendour. Loud, long moans echoed tortured, hungry voices within the resonant caverns and chambers, chilling the group to the bone. At first, Cloud thought that they were real, human voices: but as he listened, he realised that it was the sound of the earth, buckling and rearing in its fight to keep itself alive. He shuddered. If only those people up on the surface could hear those screams, then they would not even think to suck the Planet's life-force out of its body anymore.

Bugenhagen watched Cloud and Red assess their surroundings. He addressed Red mildly.

"Nanaki, you know where you are?"

Red nodded.

"Yes. This is where it all took place. The war between my tribe and that of the Gi." He looked up, puzzled. "But why have you taken me here, Grandfather?"

Bugenhagen did not answer the question.

"We must pass through these caves first. Then you will understand, Nanaki."

He began to float over into the heart of the caverns and then stopped and swivelled round to them.

"Come, let us move on."

* * *

Cloud and Red followed Bugenhagen through the dimly lit tunnels. Cloud's feet crunched against the flakes of brittle stone and dry moss. He still did not know why Bugenhagen had wanted him to come along. Why was Red's heritage so important to Cloud? He did not see why it should concern him, but he was curious as to what this mystery was. 

As they wandered further through the dank, dreary caves, the cloudy dismal light suddenly gave way to the glowing flickers of burning torches. As Cloud looked about, he saw that there were cavities carved into the rock faces and that these were being inhabited. Out of the black holes peered narrow golden eyes that caused Cloud's heart topulse with fear. They seemed to bore into him like laser beams, full of loathing and vengeance. As Cloud passed them, the features of the staring creatures became clearer. Kneeling in their cavern homes, they had the faces and bodies of humans, but they were grey-skinned and bony. In their soapy grey hair were feathered head-dresses and coloured beads, and their finger-nails were yellowed and curling over.

"What are these beings?" Cloud asked, kicking away the hands of the creatures as their skinny arms reached out to grasp him by the ankles.

"They are the Gi," Bugenhagen replied. "They were powerful sorcerers who sought to rule the sacred land of Cosmo Canyon. They lost the war with our village and were sealed up in this mountain. Their vengeful souls could not be assimilated into the Lifestream. So here their shades remain."

"But why are they are not attacking us?" Red inquired, confused. Bugenhagen gave him a long side-glance.

"Because, Nanaki, they are afraid of you."

"Afraid of me!" Red echoed, shocked. "Grandfather, I don't understand!"

"Be patient, Nanaki. Once we have passed through here, you will see why."

Now more than just perplexed, the two trailed Bugenhagen through the grottoes. The Gi glared at Red with a mixture of hatred and fear as he walked past. They did not dare to move or even use their magic on the small party, but cowered in their bleak homes with an almost begrudging reverence.

Shortly, Bugenhagen led the two up to a painfully narrow, claustrophobic tunnel carved within the walls of the caves. Leading them through the shaft of dripping rock and mildew, they presently came out and into the open air of a great valley. All around stood the crests of the canyon, and a pale, milky full moon shone above them like a lustrous pearl. Stopping, Bugenhagen pointed up to the peak of the tallest mount.

"Look Nanaki," he commanded in a suddenly regal voice."Look at your father."

Cloud and Red looked up.

At the edge of the cliff stood the mirror-image of Red - except he was older, larger, more dignified. Cloud saw that spears had been driven into the body of the great beast, and on his face were moulded the ravages of pain - and yet the face was noble, the face of a great man. As Cloud looked closer, he realised that the creature's expression was stuck fast, like that of a statue: no, it _was_ a statue.

Nanaki's father was a lump of stone.

Red stood, speechless, both pain and wonder etched on his roughened face.

Bugenhagen glided over to him.

"That is your father, Nanaki. The great warrior, Seto."

"My father...Seto..."

Red stared up at the grey sculpture that his father appeared to be. What had happened to him?

Bugenhagen looked up to the place where he had memorised Seto was.

"Long ago, during the war between your kind and the Gi, it was not always certain that your mother and father would win the battle. The Gi were capable of a powerful black magic. For a time, it seemed quite inevitable that they would win."

Bugenhagen looked closely at Red, who stared back up at him earnestly.

"Your mother and father fought bravely. But while the battle was raging on, many fell wounded, your mother included. Seto begged her to return to the safety of the village. He stayed behind, and fought the Gi back into the caves." He paused, lifting his face up to Seto's with an air of regret. "Yet he did not escape unscathed. The cowardly Gi's poisoned spears pierced him, and turned Seto to stone. And yet, he protected our village and still, he protects us. His bravery, his strength and prowess cowed the Gi into submission. The fear he instills in them keeps them from invading us again."

He turned to Red seriously.

"He did not run away, Nanaki. Your father stayed here to protect us."

Red let out a breath and stared up at the unmoving beast.

"Can he...hear us?"

"Oh yes." Bugenhagen nodded. "He is very much alive, though he is unable to move." He turned to Cloud "Cloud, I want you to know this because I want you to realise that Nanaki has much to learn. This is his story, his heritage, and I... I am granting you guardianship of my grandson. When you take him back on your quest with you, I want you to take care of him, to nurture him into the adult he wishes to be."

"I understand," Cloud answered, bowing his head respectfully.

"But Grandfather!" Red intervened heatedly."I'm not going with the others! I want to stay here with you!"

Bugenhagen turned to Cloud.

"Cloud, could you please leave us for a moment?"

Cloud nodded, seeing his presence was no longer needed, and turned to leave. When he had disappeared back into the cave tunnel, Red turned expectantly to Bugenhagen. The old man thoughtfully moved away from his ward.

"Nanaki," he began, shortly, "you tell me that Cloud and the others are trying to save the Planet. Personally, I don't think that this can be done."

Red stood wordlessly, following the old man with his eye. Bugenhagen stopped, then spoke again.

"The Planet has had its life sucked out of it for too long now to hope for its redemption. It will die - and soon, there is no doubt about that. But..." he smiled suddenly, "there is no reason why you young people should stop chasing what you seek,or follow your dreams. Even if you don't stand much of a chance of realising those dreams, while there is life in you, just seeking them out is a force in itself."

He moved to Red and faced him seriously.

"I am old, Nanaki. I am a hundred and twenty eight years of age. It is a reality that you must face - that I will not always be here with you. I'm afraid I do not have long left to live."

"No, Grandfather." Red shook his head vigorously. "Please don't say that."

"I cannot hide it from you, Nanaki," Bugenhagen replied softly. "But, I want you to fulfill what you can in your life while I am still living. That is why I want you to carry on your journey with Cloud. Not only this, but your father would wish it of you. It is your key to becoming an adult, to 'growing up', and making your parents proud."

Red listened quietly and looked up at the statue of Seto, his father. Though the eyes did not look at him, he felt as though the great warrior was speaking to him, guiding him to a future he had not thought possible. He gazed back into Bugenhagen's blind eyes.

"Yes, Grandfather. You are right. I have been selfish, I have remained a child while pretending that I am an adult." He paused. "But now, my father has shown me the way. I am Nanaki, son of Seto, and my greatest wish is to protect this Planet and make him proud of me."

Red turned back to Seto; and from the eyes of the statue were falling great drops of salt water, sliding down the cold, stony cheeks and on to the rocks below.

Red felt choked with pride.

"Those tears...they're..."

Swallowing the lump in his throat, he bounded up to the top of the peak and stood beside his mirror-image, his father Seto. Above them, shrouded in blackened clouds, the moon watched over them, unblinking.

Raising his head, Red howled a cry - the ancient words of his ancestors - into the cool, night air.

-oOo-

* * *

Cloud leaned against the dank, damp wall of the darkened cave and sighed. 

This was a turning point in Red's life, he knew that. From this moment on, Red would choose which way to tread, the path that would lead him to the fulfilment of his purpose. But that was not what was preoccupying Cloud. The fact was, that while Red was finding himself, Cloud realised that he did not know himself anymore than the young warrior did. He closed his eyes. There was an ache deep inside him. What was _his_ purpose?_ Why did he not know himself?_

The sound of Red and Bugenhagen nearing him caused him to push himself away from the wall to meet them. Red frisked toward him, his single eye shining bright. For the first time, Cloud saw something like a smile cross his face.

"I am coming with you!" he stated as he finally stood face to face with him.

"What happened?" Cloud questioned.

Red's fiery face looked up joyfully into his.

"I think I've just grown up, that's what," he growled in reply.

-oOo-

* * *

_Next: Cloud and Tifa return to their hometown with unexpected consequences..._


	21. PART 2 Nibelheim

**Disclaimer: **Final Fantasy 7 and its characters belong to Square-Enix.

-oOo-**

* * *

**

**: Chapter Twelve : Nibelheim**

Aerith had changed.

It was not that she was any less cheerful or gentle, or sweet or kind. Rather, Cloud began to notice, there were odd times when she would become quiet and withdrawn, and at these times, it became very hard to notice whether she was there or not. Likewise, Cloud's attitude toward her changed also. He had not intended it to be so at first. He had not meant to simply see her as a suddenly entirely different person. But it had been so abrupt and quick that he had hardly noticed it at all.

It was her eyes. It always began with her eyes. The day after she had told him she was alone, Cloud had looked into those emerald green irises and had thought; _there is something there that I had not seen before_: and that realisation had changed everything. Looking into those eyes, for a moment he had seen the very fabric of the Universe, the endless framework of a never-ending cosmos. He had been awakened to her as a person, not just as 'the last'.

"Take care of her," Bugenhagen had said as they had left Cosmo Canyon. "For she is your window."

Their window. Yes, that was what Aerith was. Cloud did not understand what the metaphor meant, but it seemed to describe Aerith perfectly. She was a window, clear, pure and perfect, and even the beauty of the flowers she had sought to sell in the god-forsaken Midgar were belittled by her inner radiance.

Whatever it was that she had learned from the elders that day in Cosmo Canyon, it had changed her. And it had perpetuated the reality that Cloud did not know or understand her.

Perhaps he never would.

-oOo-

* * *

After spending several days resting in Cosmo Canyon, the seven bid farewell to Bugenhagen and the elders, and set off in the newly prepared Buggy on the search for Sephiroth. Yuffie had become restless, and Cloud had been worried that she would suddenly take it into her brain to leave the group. 

Following the coast of the New Continent and over the great Delta River, the landscape soon gave way to the mountainous ground such that had been seen in Mount Corel. As Cloud drove toward the hazy peaks of the mountain range, his heart gave a familiar wrench of joy, and sorrow. Tifa became fidgety in the passenger seat, and her eyes roved the vista with an unfamiliar anxiety as she spoke to him.

"Cloud, this isn't...?"

He nodded.

For five years he had not ventured into this place, this place he had called home. The summits of Mount Nibel were all that were left to help him recall his old life. Nibelheim had disappeared in the flames of that terrible misadventure five years ago. Cloud's hometown had been destroyed at the hands of Sephiroth, and would be a mass of charred earth where it had been razed to the ground. Cloud revved up the engine of the Buggy quickly. He did not want to have to witness the site where he had lost everything and everyone he'd cared for. So, it came as a surprise to him to hear Tifa suddenly call out to him in fearful wonder.

"Cloud, stop! Cloud, look!"

Cloud looked.

There, nestling between two twin peaks, was Nibelheim, exactly the same as it always had been.

The shock caused Cloud to hit the brakes immediately. The people in the back of the Buggy were flung forward into a jumbled squash. Yuffie poked her head in between the two front seats.

"Hey! What was that for, buster!"

Cloud stared at the form of the tiny village with its rosy roofs glinting in the pastel coloured sunlight that was radiating from between the mountain crevices. His heart seemed to churn in baffled bewilderment. Why was Nibelheim still standing?

"What?...Tifa, what is going on?" he stammered. "Is this real?"

She stared back at him, her expression timorous and shaken. Making his mind up, Cloud began to race the Buggy toward the tiny village, his brain willing him to believe it was just a mirage, a trick of the frosty sunlight. Yet, as he drew closer, the image did not disappear. Nibelheim still stood before him, approaching faster and faster with every inch he drove.

It was not long before they were right outside it. Gazing up into the windows of the houses, Cloud finally accepted that what he was seeing was no dream, no illusion. Nibelheim was as it always had been.

He ran through into the village entrance.

"Cloud!" Tifa cried, but he did not stop for her. The others, tired, confused, and grumbling loudly, bundled out of the truck to follow.

The seven comrades stood just inside Nibelheim village, looking round. Cloud took in every single little thing, trying to catch anything that was out of place. No: all things were as he remembered them. There was no give-away to say this was just an hallucination. There was the well where he and Tifa had made their promise; there was his house; there was Tifa's. It was all as it had been.

"Where the hell are we?" Yuffie demanded. "I wanna know where we are!"

"This is Nibelheim," Cloud answered quietly. "My hometown."

"What the fuck!" Barret exclaimed, mystified. "But you told us it was burnt t'the ground!"

"It was," he replied shortly, unable to swallow it all either.

"Then why is it still standing?" Red asked simply.

"I don't know," Cloud answered on a breath.

"Hang on a minute," Cait Sith barged in. "What's going on here?"

"Yeah!" Yuffie was indignant. "I don't get it! Is this place meant to be burnt or not!"

"Listen," Aerith began to explain patiently. "The last time Cloud was here, this place got burnt down by Sephiroth. Everyone died."

"Then why's it standing?" Yuffie cried out, voicing exactly the words everyone else had been thinking at that moment.

Cloud did not answer. He wandered into the heart of the village, still not believing what he was seeing. Nibelheim was meant to be dead. He had seen it burn with his own eyes - it wasn't meant to be like this. And, as he walked past the well, he felt something insubstantial and hazy in the atmosphere; it was as though Nibelheim was full of floating dreams that no longer existed. He shook his head violently, but nothing changed. He was still here, in his hometown, in a place that shouldn't be.

"Cloud..."

Tifa was behind him, gazing round with sad, scared eyes. He turned, grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Tifa, I don't get it! Why is everything here? I saw it, dammit! I saw Nibelheim burn with my own eyes!"

She shook her head slowly.

"I don't know, Cloud. I just don't know..."

He released her, and began to walk to the Nibelheim inn with violent purpose, Tifa following.

"Cloud, what are you doing?" she called, but he did not answer.

Crashing through the door of the inn, Cloud looked about him. As far as he could see, nothing here had changed either. It was the same inn that he and Sephiroth had stayed in on their mission five years ago. The only thing that seemed to suggest that this was not Nibelheim was the innkeeper that stood at the reception desk. Cloud quailed in triumph. This was a man he definitely did not remember, who did not fit into the framework Cloud knew so well.

"Cloud..."

Tifa was behind him, an anxious look on her face. Ignoring her and rushing forward, Cloud grabbed the man by the collar and shook him violently in his anger.

"Tell me where we are!" he screamed. "Tell me!"

The man, whose face wore a mixture of surprise, fright and outrage, stuttered out his reply.

"Nibelheim. We're in Nibelheim, goddammit!"

"You're lying!" Cloud yelled.

By now, the man seemed to be firmly convinced that Cloud was mad.

"Why should I lie!"

Tifa intervened quickly, grabbing onto Cloud's arms tightly.

"Cloud, stop this!" He thought he saw tears beginning to form in her eyes and he turned away, eyes burning with rage and pain. "Please, Cloud, don't do this!"

He reluctantly let go of the man, who glared at him.

"Would you mind telling me why you just came barging in and attacked me?"

Cloud's rage flared up again. He began to yell again, almost unaware that he was doing so.

"You lied! You told me this was Nibelheim! But Nibelheim burned down five years ago!"

The man, instead of becoming incredulous, began to bristle in anger.

"How dare you say such things! Why, Nibelheim has _always_ been standing!"

"Stop lying to me!" Cloud shouted. "This is my - our - hometown! I saw it burn with my own two eyes!" He indicated to them vehemently to emphasise the point. "My own two eyes, for God's sake!"

The man's own eyes began to glint.

"You're not to say such things! Nibelheim never burnt down - you're the one who must be lying! You're mad, I tell you!"

"Mad?" Tifa intervened, her voice indignant. "He's telling the truth! His mother died in the fire, and so did everyone else! So _you're_ not meant to be here!"

The man puffed himself up in rage.

"Either book a room or get out of my inn right now!"

Cloud glared at him for a moment, then, seeing that the innkeeper really meant to stick to his threat, stormed out of the inn with Tifa behind him. The others were standing outside, obviously having heard the seething quarrel from within.

"Mad, huh?" Barret muttered, crossing his arms. "That's just 'bout freakin' right."

"Shut up!" Tifa rebuked him. "Cloud's telling the truth! I remember the flames too! It's all true!"

"But then, what is this place?" Cait Sith put in, looking round.

"It's most strange," Red added, only to be cut off by a sudden cry from Yuffie.

"Hey, I've got it!" she shrieked. "We're in a time-warp, right! Oh wow!"

Cloud shook his head slowly.

"No. No, it's not a time-warp. I know it isn't. This is something more sinister. I can feel it." He paused, looking about him again in bewilderment. _Did the Shinra rebuild this village again from scratch? Was it a cover up? And if so, what exactly did they want to cover up? _

"Whatever the case, there's definitely something strange going on here." Aerith agreed softly. "I can feel something too. Something...that isn't right. It's coming from one of the houses over there."

"What?" Cloud cried, alarmed.

She looked surprised.

"Didn't I tell you?" She pointed to one of the houses to her right "It's that one."

Cloud stared at the house in shock, his whole being filling with a new kind of fear. The house Aerith was pointing at was his own.

"But...that's my house," he stammered.

"Your house?" Barret exclaimed. "Damn, this is screwed."

"Come with me," Cloud suddenly ordered, and they all followed him, somewhat doubtfully, into Cloud's house. With bated breath, Cloud pushed open the door and walked inside.

There was nothing, and no one. Everything was neat and tidy, quite in place. There were slight alterations to the house - most of the possessions and bits of furniture were things Cloud did not remember. But the placing of the belongings were exactly as they had been when Cloud had lived in the house. However, the room had a sort of unlived-in feeling about it, as though someone had renovated it and then decided they didn't want to live there anymore. The sound of the clock ticking monotonously on the mantelpiece filled the house with a dull, resonant timbre. Cloud walked up to it. The clock face showed the correct time.

Unbidden and unfamiliar tears stung his eyelids. What was behind all this? What was playing these tricks on his mind, on his soul? He was inside his own house, and he knew, deep inside his heart, that it was not meant to be.

"There's nothing here," he finally choked.

"No," Aerith shook her head adamantly. "There's something here."

"Talk about suspense," Yuffie said sarcastically, opening the door to the dining room inquisitively. Then, letting out a piercing shriek, she closed it back into place with a bang. Resting her back on it, she looked around at them with a terrified look on her face. Cloud started.

"Yuffie, what's wrong?"

She took in several intense breaths before replying.

"There are...strange guys in there."

"Strange?" Barret repeated. "Whaddya mean 'strange'?"

"Take a look for yourself," Yuffie answered, still not over her shock. "There's no way I'm headin' back in there!"

Walking up to the door valiantly, Cloud threw it open.

A tumult of words suddenly filled his head. Though he could not catch at them fast enough, they're meaning seemed simple enough. _Oneness, togetherness...unification...Reunion..._He held in his breath.

Inside the room were eleven people. He could not tell whether they were men or women, simply because of the fact that they were wearing long, black cloaks with hoods that completely shrouded their faces. They stood, inert, looking at the walls, through the windows, never facing the centre of the room. As Cloud entered, they turned slowly, completely in time with one another, so that they faced him.

For the first time in a long time, Cloud felt the unfamiliar tentacles of fear grip him. These strange beings scared him more than anything else he'd ever witnessed, but he felt _drawn _to them in some inscrutable, beckoning way. The black figures stared at him closely through their dark shrouds, each one looking exactly the same. Cloud realised it - they were the ones who were one, together, unified.

"Who are these people?" Tifa gasped, horrified.

Cloud did not even attempt to make a reply. He simply did not know. Then, something caught his eye. On the gnarled hands of each caped figure was a small red insignia. They were numbers, written in roman numerals. Numbers ranging from II to XII. Three of those numbers were missing, but the rest were there. Cloud felt his heartbeat thud against the wall of his chest. He knew that if he dared to pull back the cloak of the twelfth figure, he'd find himself staring into the eyes of the drunk he'd seen in the Sector Five slums so long ago. He gestured to Red.

"Red, look. These people, they have the same tattoos as you. Look, I to XII." He turned to the noble warrior beast. "You're the thirteenth."

Before anyone could question Cloud, one of the shrouded people spoke up in a low, hoarse voice.

"Thirteenth? There are only twelve of us."

"Yes," the fourth added, in a cold, faraway voice. "We are the chosen twelve."

"We are honoured," the eighth hissed softly.

"Honoured?" Cloud echoed. "What do you mean? What have you been chosen for?"

"Reunion," each one of the twelve uttered, their voices as one, frighteningly together. "Reunion."

"What?" Cloud persisted fearfully. "Reunion for what?"

"Sephiroth," the eleventh purred. "He is the first...our great lord Sephiroth will join the Reunion...we shall be one again."

"What are they talking about?" Cait Sith breathed, scared.

"Reunion!" they all called in unison. "_Reunion_!"

Cloud stepped forward.

"Sephiroth! You mean he's here?"

"He's in the Mansion," the seventh replied. "We wait for him here."

Cloud stood back, knowledge filling his face.

"The Shinra Mansion!"

* * *

Cloud raced out to where he knew the Shinra Mansion to be. The imposing old structure rose, bleak and broken, above the rest of the village, even more decrepit than it had been when Cloud had last seen it. He looked at the crumbling house. 

"I'm going to look for him," he said quietly.

"Cloud, are you sure...?" Tifa put in, but he nodded quickly.

"Yes. I'm sure."

Red bounded forward.

"Cloud, I'm coming with you. I don't know what I've got to do with this so-called Reunion, but if it's anything to do with Sephiroth, I've got to find out."

"All right," Cloud replied hesitantly. He would have preferred to go by himself and face Sephiroth alone, but perhaps he would need the back-up."You can come."

He opened the front door to enter, but Aerith stopped him.

"Cloud, I'm coming too."

He shook his head firmly.

"No way! I'm not letting you, Aerith!"

She walked up beside him and looked into his eyes, pleading with him.

"Cloud, please, I'm begging you to let me come with you!"

"No," he retorted stubbornly. "It's too dangerous. What would happen if you got hurt? You know Sephiroth will kill you. I'd never forgive myself."

"Sephiroth and I are the same," she urged. "I must see him again, Cloud. Let me go with you, please."

He gazed back into her eyes and was oddly touched by the beseeching warmth in them.

"All right," he relented. "But if anything goes wrong, I'm sending you back."

She nodded to show she understood.

"Of course, Cloud."

They stepped inside the Mansion, the doors closing with a low creak, then a soft bang. The three looked about them warily. The greyed, dusty hallway lay still with a misty, time-worn quality. The only shaft of sunlight strayed from a set of stained-glass windows at the back of the room. A great oak staircase led to a long, richly-carpeted landing above. As they walked past, the floorboards groaned under their weight. The squeaking of mice as they scuttled along the skirting boards shuffled every now and then as the tiny rodents became alarmed at the disturbance caused by the intruders. Not even the grandfather clock nearby made a sound. It had stopped long ago.

Aerith moved in close beside Cloud as they walked through the old hallway.

"Are you scared?" he asked her, but she shook her head.

"No. Where do you think Sephiroth is?"

Cloud did not reply for a moment. There was only one place that he could imagine Sephiroth to be in.

"In the library. He must be in the library."

Retracing the path he had taken five years ago down to the cellar of the house, he followed the spiralling staircase down to the bottom, pushing the long strands of cobwebs from their course. When they had got to the bottom and into the corroding basement, Red suddenly stopped.

"There is something strange around here," he growled softly. "I can smell it."

"What can you smell?" Aerith questioned, puzzled.

Red began to sniff amongst the dirt and loose rock, right to the front of an ancient wooden door. It was the door that had been locked the last time Cloud had entered the Shinra Mansion. Red looked up.

"It's from here."

"Is Sephiroth in there?" Aerith asked.

Cloud went up to the door and turned the knob hastily. Nothing happened. It was still locked.

"No, he can't be in here. It's locked. Unless he locked himself in from the inside."

Red, who'd been scrabbling in the dirt with his paws, shook his head.

"No. Here's the key."

Cloud bent over and picked up the key. It was brown and gritty with rust. He examined it carefully.

"Why would someone lock this door and drop the key outside in such an obvious place?" he questioned, half to himself. "It doesn't make sense."

"Unless," Red interjected, "that someone wanted whatever it is that is inside to be found."

"I have a bad feeling about this," Cloud said, looking at the door doubtfully.

"Me too," Aerith added in an undertone.

"But I'm going in anyway," he finished. Stabbing the key in the lock, he turned it eventually, though rather stiffly. The lock clicked open grimly. Turning to the others cheerfully, Cloud spoke up.

"Well, here goes."

Swivelling the rounded handle easily, he pushed the door open slowly. It snarled into place to reveal a high-ceilinged room made of mossy, dampened brick. It was a circular chamber, and at the end of the room was a gnarled grate and a broken hearth. Remnants of used up coal lay scattered round on the stone floor, and slime slithered between cracks in the brickwork.

But nothing could prepare the three for what occupied that grim, barren room.

"Coffins," Aerith whispered, hanging back in repulsion. "They're coffins."

Gathered about at the walls of the room stood open coffins, facing inward to the centre of the room. Skeletons lay sprawled on the faded purple velvet, their lifeless faces staring up at the ceiling through eyeless sockets. In the middle of the room stood the only closed coffin, leaving little to the imagination as to what was inside it.

"This is disgusting," Aerith stammered, covering her mouth. "I think I'm going to be sick."

"What do you think is inside?" Red asked curiously.

"I don't know," Cloud replied. "But I'm going to find out."

"Oh no!" Aerith cried. "Cloud, you're insane!"

He shrugged.

"I'm curious."

Ignoring Aerith's pleas, he walked up to the coffin. It's once shiny lacquered lid lay peeling and dusty. As Cloud leaned over to place his fingers beneath the cover, he caught a faint musty smell trailing the air. And more than that, he caught the aroma of living matter. It was unmistakable. His stomach clenched.

"Cloud, please don't," Aerith begged one more time.

Cloud stared at the lid, blinked a little. No, he was curious now, he had to know what was inside. With little effort, he pulled up the covering just a chink. He peered inside the dark slit.

Dropping the lid with a clang, he raced back to the others, his heart racing. Aerith gazed at him in terror.

"What is it? Cloud, what was in there?"

He pointed at the coffin, his arm shaking.

"I don't know. I mean...I do...but..." he stopped, tried again "Someone - something - is in there! It's alive!"

"A vampire!" Aerith breathed, but Red shook his head with certainty.

"No. It's not possible."

A sudden movement from the coffin caused them to stop still and gaze at the encasement in trepidation. Slowly, steadily, the lid began to rise. A metal claw appeared at the edge, driving the cover out of its way. Cloud held his breath as the wooden lid was pushed away. What...who was in there?

Gradually, the cover was pulled aside and clattered uselessly to the floor. Sitting in the plush velvet lining of the coffin was a man. Slowly, he stood up, his features becoming apparent.

Cloud gazed on in speechlessness. The man stood, dignified and tall, his weary-looking face partially hidden by locks of uncouth jet-black hair. He was handsome, with young, roman features and exquisite almond-shaped, crimson eyes. He was dressed in black, with a rich, blood-red cloak draped over his broad shoulders. At his belt hung an old gun with awooden handle, an artifact from a past age. On his left arm had been placed a shining golden gauntlet.

The man glared back at the three with soulful, narrowed eyes. His mouth moved slowly, hardly making a sound at first, then his voice spoke, deep and flowing.

"Who," he began softly "has awakened me from my sleep?"

-oOo-

* * *

_Next: A new recruit and another rendezvous with Sephiroth... _


	22. PART 2 Vincent Valentine

**Disclaimer:** I do not and never have pretended to own these characters. They belong to Square-Enix. I'm a poor nobody who writes simply for pleasure. Please don't sue me!

-oOo-**

* * *

**

**: Chapter Thirteen : Vincent Valentine**

Cloud didn't know whether to be surprised or frightened. Was this all a dream? Was the whole village of Nibelheim just a dream?

The man glared at them from bright, penetrating eyes.

"Who are you?" he began, his voicelow, rich and deep. "You must leave this place, now. It is not for the likes of you."

"For the likes of us?" Cloud finally repeated. "What do you mean, 'for the likes of us'?"

The man lowered his head, never taking his eyes off the three. His cultured voice replied sonorously.

"I have nothing to say to strangers. Get out of this mansion. It is the beginning of your nightmare."

"You can say that again," Cloud murmured to himself regretfully. He spoke up. "Then tell me, is this mansion really a nightmare? And why were you in that coffin? Were you having a nightmare too?"

"You'd dream about bad things if you slept in a place like this!" Aerith cried, still not quite over her shock.

The man calmly moved his gaze onto her.

"Hmph. A nightmare?" He shook his head firmly. "No. I was merely sleeping. A long sleep to atone for my sins."

"Atone for your sins?" Cloud was perplexed. There was something decidedly mysterious about this man. Why lie in a coffin to atone for his sins? What sins? Cloud looked at him closely. It seemed to him that this man had been in that coffin for a long time, perhaps years. If so, then perhaps he knew of why Nibelheim was still standing. It was a possibility. He decided to question him. "I have a question to ask. Do you know why Nibelheim is still standing?"

The man passed him a quizzical look and Cloud hastened to explain.

"Five years ago this place was burned down. Yet it is still standing, the way it was all that time ago. You said this place was a nightmare. Should that be taken literally? Is this a nightmare conjured up by Sephiroth...?"

The man cut him off, surprise on his face.

"Sephiroth!"

"You know Sephiroth?" both Cloud and the man finished together. Cloud stood back, startled. Something was going on here, something he did not understand.

"You start first," the man prompted, unfolding his body slowly and finally standing up tall and straight.

Cloud took in a deep breath. This man, he had no idea who he was, nor why he was in this room. But he knew Sephiroth. Maybe he could tell Cloud of Sephiroth's history, of who and what he was. He began to tell him his story, right through to the end.

"And that's how it was," he finished breathlessly. "And now I'm searching for him to find the truth."

The man put a finger to his lips thoughtfully.

"So," he began quietly. "Sephiroth found out how he was created five years ago. He found out about the Jenova Project and disappeared, but returned only just recently. He has killed many and is seeking the Promised Land."

Cloud nodded in confirmation.

"Now it's your turn to explain."

The man made as if to return into his coffin.

"I am sorry, but I cannot speak."

"But that's dirty!" Aerith cried, indignantly. The man ignored her.

"Hearing your stories has added upon me yet another sin. More nightmares shall come to me now than ever before. Now...please leave."

Cloud ran forward and stopped him from placing the lid back over him. The man glared at him, his deep eyes flashing.

"Leave me be!" he glowered, but Cloud did not let go of the cover.

"At least tell us your name!" he begged earnestly. The man passed a glance over Aerith and Red, then back to Cloud. His mouth opened, and again the soft, silky voice poured forth.

"My name is Vincent Valentine. Formerly of...the Shinra Manufacturing Department into Administration Research."

Cloud started back.

"The Turks!"

The man smiled a bitter smile.

"I must stress the formerly. I have no affiliation with the Shinra now. And you?"

Cloud took in a breath.

"Cloud Strife, formerly of SOLDIER."

Vincent's eyes brightened into two deep pools of sudden hope.

"You were with the Shinra!" He looked at Cloud beseechingly. "Tell me, do you know someone called Lucrecia!"

Cloud blinked.

"Lucrecia?" He shook his head slowly. "No. I don't."

Vincent's face seemed to grow desperate. A wild yearning glazed his handsome features as he pleaded with Cloud.

"She is the woman who gave birth to Sephiroth."

Cloud stared at him in astonishment. For a moment, he could say nothing. _Sephiroth was born from a woman called Lucrecia?_

"Gave birth?" he finally breathed. "But... I thought he was an experiment! I thought _Jenova_ was his mother!"

Vincent smiled a twisted smile.

"That theory isn't completely wrong, but neither is it completely right. He was born from a beautiful lady. That lady was Lucrecia." Vincent's eyes strayed to the dark ceiling, peering soulfully into a long-lost past. "She was an assistant to Professor Gast on the Jenova Project." His voice lowered to a soft, longing whisper. "Beautiful Lucrecia..."

"She was...a human experiment?" Cloud probed, afraid to destroy the man's reverie. Vincent lost his dreamy expression and looked back to Cloud.

"There was no way to cancel the experiment. I could not stop her." He hung his head. "That...was my sin. I let the one I loved, the one I respected most, face the worst. I let her out of my grasp and stood and watched."

Aerith spoke, her voice sombre.

"I understand. Your punishment was to sleep."

"Isn't that a bit odd?" Red added gently.

Vincent suddenly seemed to realise that he'd said too much. He wrenched the lid from Cloud's clutch and sat back down into the coffin.

"Just let me sleep," he murmured sorrowfully. "Let me sleep."

Cloud watched as the man disappeared back into the coffin. Was it the truth? That Sephiroth was not completely the son of Jenova, but the product of a human experiment on a helpless subject? A woman called Lucrecia? It was all too much to take in.

Cloud turned to the others, still unable to believe the peculiar information this man had just given him. He was not even sure that they were true. Perhaps this Vincent had lost his mind with having to live all these years in a coffin. Cloud knew he would be if he was in the same position.

"There's nothing left to do here," he finally said, shivering. "Let's find Sephiroth."

As he walked out he took one last glance behind him. But within the coffin, nothing stirred. It was as if Vincent had never awoken at all.

* * *

Once outside the strange chamber,Cloud's thoughts reverted once moreto Sephiroth. He stared at the door to the great library. He would be in there, as he had been five years ago. Cloud knew it. He shuddered. He had to face Sephiroth, it was essential. But, as he walked over to the door, he knew he had to do it by himself. That he must face up to him alone. 

Decidedly, he turned to the others.

"Red, I want you to take Aerith back out of here immediately. Don't let any harm come to her."

Aerith stepped forward, upset.

"But, Cloud, I..."

He turned on her, shouted at her.

"Look, just do as I say, okay! Get out of here!"

She stared back at him with a mixture of astonishment and unhappiness on her face. Cloud shut his mouth quickly, unable to understand why he'd just snapped at her. It was as though, for a short, sharp moment in time, something had just filled his mind with a spark of uncontrollable anger. He lowered his voice.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you. But I have to talk to Sephiroth, and by myself."

Aerith looked back at him with a wounded countenance, but said nothing and turned to go. Red, who passed Cloud a less than friendly look, turned also to escort her out. Cloud waited until they had gone, a mixture of guilt and impatience occupying him. Then it was replaced with an overwhelming feeling of apprehension that consumed his heart. He could not remember why he had sent the others away, or why it had seemed important. It was as though something had possessed him to do so, and that force had now left him. Nevertheless, for all his present misgivings, his hand went to the doorknob and turned it. The door opened more softly than the others.

The makeshift laboratory greeted him with an airless, mouldy odour. In the corner of the room stood two observation pods, empty, with their glass cracked. Another wave of indefinable emotion filled him. He was drawn to those two chambers, though he didn't know why. Walking over to them, he had this familiar, overpowering surge of feeling within him. Looking at the misty glass, he saw that the two pods had labels fastened to them. The first read:

_Clone Project_

_Specimen (B) code:C_

Underneath this had been scratched a small sentence in a scrawled script:

'Let's get out of here.'

Cloud looked to the second pod, which was embellished with the same label:

_Clone Project_

_Specimen (A) code:Z_

Likewise, beneath this marker had been etched a reply to the first:

'Feeding time, that's our chance.'

Cloud ran his finger over the scratches incredulously. Two people had been trapped in these two tubes. Two human beings. Had they been turned into monsters as well? Or had they escaped, as they'd planned to do so? There was something evil churning in Cloud's stomach as he thought these thoughts. Perhaps he had once known those people, who'd been encased in these cruel cages so long ago...

"So," a smooth voice addressed him from behind, "you're show your face at last."

Cloud whirled round. Sephiroth was gazing at him out of glittering turquoise eyes. He smiled with a distorted expression as he stared round the room.

"Being here brings back such a lot of memories, does it not?"

Cloud did not answer. He stared back at Sephiroth, wondering why, for the hundredth time, the man did not simply kill him. Sephiroth grinned maliciously at him.

"Since you have proved yourself by turning up so conveniently, I must ask you: will you be participating in the Reunion?"

Cloud was finally able to burst in sudden rage.

"I don't even know what the Reunion is!" he spat.

"Oh?" Sephiroth seemed mildly amused. "Am I to believe you?" He walked slowly forward, looked at Cloud closely, who jerked still in repulsion. "Jenova will be at the Reunion, Cloud," he continued softly, "Jenova will _join_ the Reunion. She will be there, a calamity from the skies."

"Jenova, a calamity from the skies?" he questioned Sephiroth, confused. "Jenova is a calamity from the skies? What are you talking about?"

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow at him.

"...I see. I don't really think you have the right to participate. Your little demonstration of ignorance has proved this to me."

Cloud moved away from him, unable to grasp his words.

"What are you talking about!"

"I would have thought Hojo would have told you all the details, just as he told me. Unless..." He chuckled a little to himself, and looked back up at Cloud. "Even though you have established yourself as unworthy, Cloud, I am inviting you to join us. I will travel north, past Mount Nibel. If you wish to find out, then follow."

He walked to the door and opened it slowly. Cloud tried to follow, but found himself unable to move. He was stuck fast, he could not put any motion into any part of his body. All he could do was stand and stare at Sephiroth leaving the room. And as soon as he had disappeared, Cloud found himself thaw out of his frozen state. He stood, trembling, his limbs like jelly, his forehead dripping with icy sweat.

"Sephiroth!" he managed to call out weakly, "Sephiroth, come back!"

There was no answer. Dragging his quaking legs toward the doorway the doorway, he pulled at the handle. The door swung open. Sephiroth was nowhere to be seen.

"Sephiroth!"

As Cloud pulled himself into the corridor, he knew he would get no answer. Sephiroth had gone. He had begun his journey over Mount Nibel and would take part in an event called the Reunion. He had invited Cloud, and Cloud must follow. And this time, he would not let Sephiroth slip out of his grasp. He would find out the truth behind Sephiroth's existence. Then, he would kill him.

Cloud put a hand to his head. Why all these questions, why all this hate and vengeance? Could there be a way to put it all aside? He did not want to hate. He wanted to love. Yes, he would give it all up if he could love. He felt himself sway in sudden nausea. He would have fallen to the floor if someone did not suddenly grasp him from under his arm and hold him up straight. Gazing up with his head spinning, Cloud saw himself looking up into two deep magenta eyes.

"Vincent?"

The mysterious man wordlessly helped him back to his feet and let go of him, his face serious and unsmiling.

"Was that Sephiroth you were talking to?" he asked, not waiting for any words of thanks. Cloud nodded. Vincent turned away, looking as if he would go back into his room. He stopped, looked up at the ceiling pensively, then turned to Cloud slowly.

"Since you told me your story," he said softly, "I have been thinking. I have been thinking that maybe, instead of lying in that room for a tortured eternity, I should search for an answer so that my sins may be absolved." He looked down at the ground sorrowfully. "If you are after Sephiroth, then maybe I may find what I seek."

He looked up at Cloud again, an intensity in his eyes.

"Suppose I went with you? Do you think that I would meet Hojo?"

"Hojo?" Cloud thought for a moment. Why all this sudden reference to Hojo? What had Hojo got to do with it all? Yes, Vincent was a mysterious man: there was something he knew that Cloud did not. But why did he want to see Hojo? He decided not to ask. "I don't know. But since he's part of the creation of Sephiroth, I suppose we may meet him, sooner or later."

Vincent closed his mournful eyes momentarily.

"Lucrecia..." he whispered softly to himself, before looking up with determination. "All right. I've decided to go with you."

Cloud looked at him suspiciously.

"Isn't that a bit of a quick change of heart?"

Vincent's expression became voracious.

"Being a former member of the Turks, I may be of help to you."

Cloud gazed steadfastly at him in the eye. Vincent returned the glance unflinchingly. There was something in that elegant face that, though cold and distant, seemed to suggest to Cloud that a deep affinity lay between them.

Making up his mind, Cloud nodded.

"All right then. But mind, it's Sephiroth we're after."

"I understand," Vincent answered firmly.

Cloud turned. It was time to set off to Mount Nibel.

-oOo-

* * *

_Next: The team meet a certain surly captain..._


	23. PART 2 Captain Highwind

**Disclaimer: **Final Fantasy VII, its world and its characters belong in their entirety to Square-Enix and not to me.

**A/N: **Just want to say a big 'welcome back!' to **Omega Gilgamesh**, and that I hope you continue to enjoy the story. :) Not to mention I hope all you newcomers, whether familiar with the story or not, aren't going to be disappointed with my humble rendition, such as it is. ;) If you have any questions about the story, please feel free to ask. But best of all, please read, review and ENJOY!

-_Ludi_

**Notes to the story: **Shera's original Japanese name was Sierra, but was mis-translated as Shera in the English version. In _Advent Children_ Cid named his new airship 'Sierra' after her. :) I've kept her name as Shera here for the sake of familiarity.

-oOo-**

* * *

**

**: Chapter Fourteen : Captain Highwind**

Vincent seemed to have a remarkable knowledge of the Mount Nibel area, and with his and Tifa's powers combined, the treacherous mountain range was not so much a threat as it might have been.

Cloud had been relieved to leave Nibelheim - if it had been Nibelheim. He had seen the evidence of its reality with his own eyes, but he could not accept that it was the town that he had seen burn five years ago. Yet _someone_ had built the town again from scratch, and the only people that would have the power and resources to do that were the Shinra. Was the rebuilding of Nibelheim nothing more than a cover-up of the events involving Sephiroth 5 years ago? And had they been willing to erase the existences of all those that had passed away in the fire - even Cloud's own mother?

All through the hazardous journey of winding paths that comprised Mount Nibel, Cloud had felt a sense of unrest fill him. Vincent, he suspected, probably knew why this false Nibelheim existed and that the real one had been burnt. However, the man never said a word on the subject, nor on any other, for that matter. He was as silent as the falling snow, and as cold as it too. He did not appear to care for his fellow comrades - nor little for himself.

The group of eight trekked across the peaks and past the old Mako Reactor that had been the scene of so much pain and drama 5 years earlier. It had not been possible to bring the Buggy with them over the windy, rocky mountains. So they had had to bear the brunt of the cold and wet for nearly a day.

The other side of Mount Nibel was characterised by vast, lush green plains that stretched onto the furthest coasts of the New Continent. Following the curve of the mountain range brought the group to their newest destination - Rocket Town.

Originally, this had been the site of the Shinra's Space Program. The only remnant of this fact was the towering, majestic form of the rusty, mossy rocket that would once have entered into the dizzy heights of space. However, the ejection scaffolds no longer held the rocket in place, and the machine itself was leaning against the nearest support. It was evident that, while it had been taking off, something had happened to cause the Shinra to immediately abort mission. It seemed that the members of the Space Program had been waiting so long for the continuation of the project that they had eventually built a town beside the rocket and brought in their families to live there. Hence the tiny community had been named Rocket Town. And it was here that the group decided to rest for a while before continuing on the search for Sephiroth.

"What a lovely town this is!" Aerith stated as they arrived.

It was indeed, very beautiful. A picturesque village, surrounded by green elms, Rocket Town's quaintness was dwarfed by the awe-inspiring spectacle that the rocket itself stood over it.

After eating at the local inn, Cloud decided it was time to ask whether anyone had seen Sephiroth pass through the village.

"Cloud, can't we just wait until we've rested a bit?" Yuffie complained. "I'm tired. All that walking through the mountains... I'm getting blisters!"

"Well, stay here and sleep if you want." Cloud shrugged. "But once I've found out where Sephiroth is headed, I'm out of here."

Yuffie scowled childishly at him.

"Why do you always threaten to go off without me? Don't you know I'm a princess? You should treat me with respect or I'll -"

"Save it, kid," Barret nudged the irate young girl. "Princess or not, we're the ones who call the shots, okay? You wan' out, we ain't stoppin' you. Just keep a can on it, ok?"

At the words Yuffie pouted, crossed her arms and looked away, but she didn't get up and leave either. For some reason, Cloud seemed to have inspired complete loyalty in her, though he had no idea as to why. It was all a little suspicious. But he didn't have time to ponder on it. Instead he shrugged again and stood up.

"You all coming or what?"

Not everyone seemed too taken with Cloud's enthusiasm, Yuffie in particular. After the trek through Mount Nibel everyone was truly exhausted, but Cloud's fervour to find Sephiroth was now burning brighter than ever. Despite their fatigue, one and all followed him out into the main and only street that made up Rocket Town. In the middle of the town stood an old man, who seemed engrossed with the leaning rocket in the distance. Cloud stopped and called to him.

"Excuse me?"

The old man turned to him mildly.

"Just look at that sight," he said unexpectedly, nodding toward the great rocket. "Every time I look at it, it fills me with such awe. It was a sad day when the project was abandoned. Such a shame. So many of us lost so much - not only our livelihoods, but our purpose." He paused and turned back to Cloud. "What do you think of it, young man?"

Cloud took a moment to stare up at the huge edifice. Standing there below it, he suddenly got the feeling of how potent the image was. Here he was, a poor, insignificant man in front of a marvel of science. It was much the same emotion as he'd felt with the dolphin at Junon - except _that_ sensation had stemmed from the wonder of Mother Nature. He took in a breath.

"Yes. It's beautiful."

The old man suddenly began to chuckle.

"Here I am talking about this rocket and boring you to death! I apologise. What is it you wanted to ask me?"

"Oh, there's no need to apologise," Cloud smiled. "I understand your enthusiasm. But I was wondering if you'd seen this man passing through..."

"A man?" the old man looked blank. "You'd have to ask the Captain about such things. He knows everything that happens round here. I'm too glued to this rocket to notice who comes and goes."

"Well, can you tell me where this Captain lives?" Cloud asked politely.

The man pointed out a charming little house to the side of the village. Thanking him, Cloud and the others walked over to the house. Knocking on the door, they waited for an answer, but there was none.

"No one's in." Barret remarked. "So what next, fearless leader?"

Cloud shrugged.

"Well, this Captain's got to be around here somewhere. It isn't as if this village is comparable to Midgar. It's tiny! He can't be very far."

He was interrupted by Tifa speaking from the other end of the front garden.

"Hey, Cloud, look at this."

Cloud sidled up to stand beside her. She was looking at a large, pink plane that was resting on the grass beside the house.

"Wow. It's huge, isn't it," she murmured in admiration. "I wonder if it still flies."

"It looks as if our Captain is into aircraft," Cloud commented. Then a thought struck him. "I've just had an idea. What if we ask the Captain if we can borrow his plane? It would sure come in useful. We could go places faster."

"Excuse me? Can I help you?"

Everyone whirled round to see who had spoken. Behind the group was standing a woman in a scientist's coat, holding a clipboard in typical scientist fashion. She was a petite woman, with mousy brown hair, a rosy complexion, and sweet features that were much understated by a pair of thick round glasses.

"Sorry," Cloud hastened to apologise, "we were just looking. It's quite a piece of work."

The woman bestowed them with a bright smile.

"Oh, that's the Tiny Bronco. The Captain built it."

Cloud turned back round to face her. "Do you know the Captain?"

"Know him?" This seemed to strike the woman as humorous and she began to giggle helplessly. "I'm his...well to tell you the truth, I'm his assistant, but I'm also his..." She broke off into more laughter, then suddenly walked to the front door of the house. "You'd better come inside."

* * *

They walked into the house. It was one of the untidiest houses Cloud had ever come across. Bits of metal, bolts and nuts, airship model blueprints, spanners, screws and motors lay about the house in the most ridiculous places. The woman placed her clipboard down on a nearby table and turned to them cheerfully. 

"My name's Shera. I live here with the Captain. But I'm afraid you've just missed him. He went out to work on the rocket."

"So he built the rocket too?" Cloud mused.

"Oh yes." Shera nodded. "What did you want to see him about?"

"Oh...we just wanted to see if we could borrow the Tiny Bronco."

Shera scratched her head doubtfully.

"Borrow the Tiny Bronco? Oh, I don't know. You see, he wanted it on show for the President's arrival."

"President?" Barret's face was beginning to twitch dangerously."You mean Rufus is coming to Rocket Town?"

"Uh-huh," Shera replied. "It's a big day for the Captain. President Rufus might be reinvesting the Space Program. He's arriving today with the Head of the Space Program."

"Fuckin' great," Barret muttered. "So Palmer's joinin' the party too."

Cloud thought a moment.

"I'm going to find the Captain," he stated shortly. "We really do need to borrow the Tiny Bronco. You lot stay here. I'll talk to him."

* * *

Going outside of the house, Cloud travelled toward the rocket at the edge of the town. Standing right next to it seemed to make clearer the overwhelming size of the structure. It almost took Cloud's breath away, to be in its presence. This, he thought, could have been the first thing to go into deep, vast space. What had happened? Shaking himself, he began to climb up the various ladders and scaffolding that led to the rocket's entrance at the top. From within the construction resonated the clangs of someone at work with a hammer, sounding over and over in a sporadic fashion. Reaching the creaky wooden platform at the top of the highest ladder, and not daring to look down, Cloud walked over it falteringly, and into the rocket. 

A grisly man was working at a loose bit of metal wall with a battered hammer. He could not have been much more than thirty, but his unshaven, care-worn face and creased forehead made him look older than he actually was. On his head rested a pair of goggles and from the corner of his mouth hung a hunched, yellowed cigarette.

"Excuse me," Cloud addressed him, "do you know where the Captain is?"

The man continued with his work at the rusty bit of steel. He did not look at Cloud.

"Who's askin'?" he inquired in a husky voice between his cigarette.

Cloud ventured into the hallway of the rocket. The walls of metal had either rusted or mildewed, and bits were falling away.

"Cloud Strife. I hear your Captain's here."

The bedraggled man stopped hammering and slowly lowered his hand. He turned to Cloud and looked him over suspiciously.

"I'm the Captain," his smoky voice replied. "Cid Highwind's the name. Whaddya want?"

Cloud hung back, momentarily surprised. So this tatty, prematurely-aged man was the famous Captain of the Space Program?

"Um...I was just wondering. Can I possibly borrow your Tiny Bronco? It's important."

Cid stared at him, half in shock and half in indignation.

"Are you out of your fuckin' mind? That's one of my most cherished possessions. I can't let you just fuckin' walk away and take it!"

Cloud blinked several times at Cid's outspokenness. Not even _Barret_ swore like that.

"But it's important and I..."

Cid rolled his eyes and continued with his job.

"Are you deaf or jus' stupid? I'm not lettin' you have that plane and that's that. Now fuck off."

Seeing it was useless to argue with him, Cloud shrugged cockily and exited the rocket. The others were waiting from him in Shera's house.

"So, what happened?" Cait Sith asked. "Did the Captain say yes?"

Cloud ignored the question and addressed Shera.

"Your Captain sure has a foul mouth."

"Oh no, Cid didn't give you any of that, did he?" Shera looked flustered. "I'm so sorry. He always gets so cross nowadays. It's all my fault really."

"Why, what did you do?" Aerith began, but was interrupted by the door banging open. In the doorway stood Cid, looking amazed and not too pleased to see visitors in his house.

"What's goin' on in here, Shera, a freakin' party?" He glared at Cloud in disgusted recognition. "What the hell are you still doin' here? I told you, I'm not givin' my plane to you."

The eight astonished visitors stared at the grizzled Captain as he swaggered past them and plumped himself into a seat at the dining room table, slamming his feet and a small pile of mud on to the shiny surface. Shera hastened to pacify him.

"Cid, they're not doing any harm," she insisted meekly. "They just popped by to see you and..."

Cid stared at her incredulously and the last morsel of tobacco slipped out of his crumbling cigarette and onto the carpeted floor.

"Wait a minute Shera, let me get this straight." He glared at her as she fell silent. "We have visitors, and you haven't even made them some tea yet?"

"But..."

"JUST MAKE THEM SOME FUCKIN' TEA!" yelled the Captain, and everyone started in alarm. "Geez, what the world is comin' to, I jus' don't know. I'm gonna go work on my new blimp project."

Pulling himself up from the chair and grabbing a bottle of whiskey from a side table, he stomped off to an adjoining room and slammed the door shut violently. Shera stared after him in dismay.

"Oh no, now I've made him really mad."

"What an awful man," Aerith put in, feeling sorry for the meek scientist, but Shera shook her head.

"No. He's the most wonderful man I've ever met. He's a genius and he's kind and generous and caring," she took in a whimsical breath, her eyes dreamy.

"Heh, heh." Yuffie chuckled sarcastically. "Sounds like my kinda guy."

"No really!" Shera shook her head in determination. "He's lovely. But now, he gets so angry all the time. He won't stop smoking and he drinks himself silly. It's as though...he's gone to pieces. And it's all my fault."

"All your fault?" Tifa spoke to her kindly. "What do you mean?"

Shera sighed heavily and sat down on a nearby sofa.

"It's a long story. Maybe you should all sit down, and I'll get you that cup of tea."

-oOo-

* * *

It was several years back. I think you'll remember when, because the whole world was so excited about the launching of the Shinra No. 26. It was a big occasion - the first journey into space, and after twenty-six model rockets the Shinra had finally got things right. Nothing was to go wrong with Shinra No. 26. But that was not the only reason why that day was to be so special. 

You see, the Captain's always dreamed of going up into space. It's been his ambition ever since he was a boy. There's nothing else in this world he really cares for. And that day, his dream was about to become a reality. He was so excited - he was just like a little child all over again, laughing and joking, really, truly _happy_.

I was working as a technician on the rocket. That morning, he came to oversee the work I was doing. He was all jumpy and I couldn't really have blamed him. I was kinda feeling the same way too.

"Shera, today's the big day!" he cried. "I know this is totally unlike me, but I'm getting all fluttery inside!"

I beamed at him.

"But of course, Captain!"

He still couldn't help being his old crusty self, even in his moment of glory.

"Would you stop calling me Captain, Shera?" he barked. "We're livin' together, for the love of Christ! My name's Cid. C-I-D, Cid! Or can't you even manage that?"

I couldn't help smiling at him still. You may think he's unkind, but I love the way he gets all serious.

"Right! Sorry Captain...I mean, Cid!"

"Oh!" he began to walk back off to the cockpit as he added his afterthought. "Don't take all day on that air chamber, Shera. Heaven knows why you're so freakin' slow at these things."

"I won't Cap-...Cid!"

I watched him leave the room and carried on with my work. He was right - I'm slow - but everything must be perfect for the Captain...I mean, Cid. I love doing things for him. But you see, that's where everything started going wrong.

Everything was ready for the lift-off. Cid was all ready in the cockpit, and the crew were all in place. Palmer was about to begin the countdown, and everyone was in a state of trepidation. Especially Cid. This was his special moment, and it had not even crossed his mind that someone - that is, me - would spoil everything for him.

As the countdown was about to begin and Cid had got all the controls ready, he received a message on the intercom.

"Captain, there is someone still in the decompression chamber. We cannot take off until that person is evacuated immediately."

Cid was furious.

"It's that damn bloody Shera! I told her to get her ass into gear over those oxygen tanks!"

He picked up the intercom speaker and switched on the line to the decompression chamber.

"Shera! What the fuck are you doin' down there!"

I was surprised to hear him shouting so loudly down the intercom. I picked up the speaker.

"I'm fixing the oxygen tank, Cid," I replied. "It's faulty, and I want everything to be perfect for you when you take off."

His voice raged back in reply.

"Goddammit, Shera, don't you understand that this rocket's gonna take off in a matter of seconds! You're gonna be burnt to a cinder!"

As I answered him, I felt my heart fall right down to the floor. I was frightened, but I knew that I was ready to sacrifice myself for the love of my Captain, and out of respect for his dreams.

"Cid, you are my Captain and I am willing to sacrifice myself for your interests. Don't worry about me, just do what you've always wanted - go into space!"

There was a silence before he replied.

"Shera, you fool, I order you t'get out of there now!"

I ignored him and carried on with my work. I was adamant that this was the right thing to do.

Meanwhile Cid was in dire straits up in the cockpit. The countdown had started, and he had a dilemma on his hands - and only ten seconds to sort it out.

"Shera!" he shrieked into the intercom, "Shera!"

He got no reply. Slamming the speaker back into its place, he listened to the countdown fall lower and lower, each second a precious moment lost.

"Shera, why are you doin' this to me!" he yelled. "If you go, I'll never forgive myself!"

The countdown continued.

_5, 4, 3, 2, 1..._

With one second left to go, Cid took in a tortured breath and aborted mission.

-oOo-

* * *

Shera sipped her cup of tea thoughtfully and placed it gently back down on to its saucer. 

"And that's why, whatever he does or says now, I'll always respect him," she sighed. "He saved my life, put it before what he wanted, what he'd wanted for all his life! But it's all my fault he's the way he is now. I'll never forgive myself."

"Is he always like that?" Cait Sith asked in a half whisper, casting a wary eye on the room Cid had disappeared into.

"I'm afraid so." Shera nodded. "I destroyed his dream - and now it's even worse! The rocket's crumbling all around him, and he can't fix it all by himself." She stood up. "That's why today, I'm going to take any aggro he gives me. Because today, he's getting his chance to start the Space Program again."

At that very same second, a sharp knock came at the door. From the next room, Cid came barging through, a freshly lit cigarette hanging from his mouth.

"It's Palmer! Shera, get the kettle on!"

Shrugging amiably, Shera turned to switch on the kettle again. Cid had stomped off to the front door and thrown it open triumphantly. In the doorway stood the rotund form of Palmer, almost filling in the frame with his corpulent mass of flesh.

"Palmer, my main man!" Cid greeted rapturously.

Palmer grinned all over his foolish face.

"Nice to see you again, Cid. It's been a long time."

At the sight of Palmer, Cloud saw that Barret was beginning to show signs of losing control. Signing to him to keep quiet, he watched Cid open the door wide for Palmer to enter.

"Here, have a seat," he began, then he noticed Cloud and the others occupying the main room and most of its chairs. He scowled. "Oh. I forgot. These wasters are hangin' round my house."

He tried to drag Yuffie out of her chair.

"Come on, get outta my house, have some respect for the visitor."

Yuffie slapped his hand off in annoyance.

"Get your hands offa me, you cheeky bastard!"

It looked as if there was about to be a prize fight between Cid and Yuffie, but Palmer cut it short by laughing in his stuffy voice.

"Oh, don't worry about it Cid. After all, they're visitors too."

He lumped himself on to the nearest settee, causing Aerith and Tifa to crush themselves to the sides for fear of getting flattened. Palmer, who was looking around with the air of making himself totally at home, suddenly turned to Tifa leeringly.

"Don't I know you?" he grinned, breathing right down her chest. Tifa turned away in disgust and sent Cloud a helpless look with her eyes. Cloud shrugged in return. It was a lucky thing that Palmer was so brainless. He didn't even recognise them as members of AVALANCHE.

Cid was getting impatient.

"Shera...where's the damned tea!"

Shera bustled over with a cup of tea and a plate of scones with a rattled air. Setting it on the coffee-table in front of Palmer, the fat man began to get excited.

"Oh my! Cherry scones, my favourite!" He proceeded to stuff himself with the cakes ravenously. "Thanks, Shera!"

Cid, looking frustrated, grabbed at his bottle of whiskey and downed a few gulps.

"Let's get to the point, Palmer," he began, tizzily. "About the reinvestment of the Space Program."

Palmer looked up blankly, crumbs sticking to his chin.

"Pardon?"

"You know!" Cid made a gesture with his whiskey bottle, sending several droplets spraying on to the carpet. "Refunding the Space Program? The rocket? Goin' up into space?"

"Oh!" Palmer looked enlightened. He hastily devoured another scone. "I'm not here about the Space Program."

Cid gaped at him in surprise.

"What? Then what are you here for!"

Palmer looked unconcerned. He was too busy eating.

"Oh, we need to borrow your Tiny Bronco. The President's quite interested in it. He'd outside right now, taking a look at it."

"What!" Cid placed down the bottle with a thud. "Well I'll be darned...!"

He rushed out of the house in a blind fury. Palmer laughed and looked round at the others jovially.

"That Cid! Always good for a laugh!"

Barret walked over to him unexpectedly and grabbed him by the dickey-bow, causing him to drop his scone.

"You Shinra toad!" he hissed. "What lies have you been endorsing in now!"

"Hey!" Palmer was beginning to recognise Barret. "Hey, I know you!"

Cloud got up and looked out of the window. To his amazement, he saw a Shinra helicopter parked outside.

"Oh, great..."

Ignoring Palmer's shouts, he ran outside and into the front garden. Cid was standing on the pathway, facing an annoyed Rufus and yelling abuse at him.

"You fuckin' double-crosser! I don't believe you, havin' the bloody cheek to come here askin' for my most prized possession! You filthy, lyin'...!"

Rufus, who'd been standing and listening with a bored expression, suddenly noticed Cloud behind Cid and stood up straight, smiling lazily.

"Ah, Cloud. So you've decided to join our little rendezvous."

"I didn't even know you were coming," Cloud replied dryly. Cid, however, did not seem so calm about the affair.

"Oh I get it! You two were workin' together to steal my Tiny Bronco!"

Cloud didn't pay any attention to his ranting.

"Why are you here Rufus?"

Rufus crossed his arms smugly.

"We've recently had reports of Sephiroth heading for the Temple of the Ancients. We need the Tiny Bronco to chase him over the ocean. It's the most effective way, you know."

"But why has Sephiroth gone to the Temple of the Ancients?"

Rufus shrugged, but was cut off by Cid beginning to shout again.

"Hey! _Hey_! Get your hands off my plane!"

Palmer had come out of Cid's house and was now attempting to squeeze himself into the Tiny Bronco. The others had followed him out of the house and there was now a big scuffle going on between Palmer, Cid and Barret.

"I tried to stop Barret!" Tifa cried helplessly. "But he got so mad, he had to have it out with Palmer!"

"This is getting ridiculous." Red muttered, bemused.

At first it seemed as if Cid and Barret had the upper hand, then Palmer unexpectedly produced a Mako gun from within the paunchy depths of his suit. Firing at Barret with a clumsy aim, he caught him on the shoulder with a beam of charged Mako. Barret fell back and clutched at his wounded shoulder with a cry of agony. Pointing the gun at Cid, he began to chuckle insanely.

"Hee, hee, I promise you, Cid, no harm will come to your precious plane!"

"You bastard con-man!" Cid barked back. "I'll get you for this!"

Cloud gritted his teeth. He had to stop Palmer from flying off with the Tiny Bronco, but the man had a gun. Nevertheless, he charged forth with his sword drawn. Palmer turned on him in surprise, but just about managed to get a shot in. The pure beam of Mako energy flew through the air like an arrow and struck Cloud in the side. He lolled backward, gripping at his injury with gritted teeth.

"_Cloud_!" Tifa cried, ready to have a go at Palmer herself, but Vincent stepped in.

"Allow me."

Picking up his gun from his side, and twirling it expertly on his index finger, he pointed the weapon at Palmer and fired. The bullet scaled effortlessly through the air and hit Palmer in the leg. With a yell of pain, he stumbled backward.

"Security!" he shouted, agonised. "Get security!"

Unfortunately, as the security truck full of Shinra soldiers came speeding on to the site, Palmer bumbled right back into its path. The truck was going too fast to stop, and crashed right into the fat man.

Seeing one of his inner council was down, Rufus quickly took matters into his own hands. He called the Shinra soldiers with a sharp decisiveness.

"Take out these fools - NOW!"

Cloud looked around urgently for an escape route. The only one that seemed to be available was the Tiny Bronco. He turned to the others.

"Get into the plane!"

In the ensuing chaos, the eight all pushed for the aircraft, squashing themselves into the back seats. Cloud jumped into the front seat and pulled at the controls.

"Okay," he breathed, "okay, let's get going!"

The Tiny Bronco jerked into life and began to run along the ground, straight into the group of scattering Shinra soldiers, and taking off.

"Stop them!" Rufus ordered desperately, but the plane had already begun to take off into the air. Cid, now more then simply angry, chased after the plane at top speed.

"Get outta my plane!" he yelled. "Get outta my Tiny Bronco, you morons!"

Seeing they wouldn't, he jumped up and held on to the runner and wouldn't let go, causing the plane to rock precariously.

"Get him in!" Cloud cried and Tifa hastened to pull him up. Just as he'd climbed to safety, a large crash sounded behind them. The plane began to sway to and fro frighteningly.

"They've hit the right propeller!" Cid cried, looking back at the shooting Shinra soldiers. "Shit! We've got to execute a crash landing!"

"But we're over the ocean now!" Yuffie cried, for the first time displaying real terror at their predicament.

"Crash land in the water then!" Cid ordered furiously.

"But I can't control this thing!" Cloud shouted back, pressing desperately at all the controls. The plane made a sudden dive toward the sea below.

"Oh _sh-it_!" Cid yelped, holding on for dear life.

Closing their eyes, everyone held on screaming as the damaged plane suddenly buckled and splashed into the water with a deafening crash.

-oOo-

* * *

_Next: The team face a case of stolen materia..._


	24. PART 2 Stolen Materia

**Disclaimer:** Yup, it's the same old drill... this story's characters belong to Square-Enix...

**A/N:** I'd just like to say 'hi' to all the new readers, and thanks for the support...If I can make y'all happy then I deem my mission accomplished. :) As far as characterisation goes - in this chapter I start to build up the antagonistic relationship between Cid and Yuffie. It was never really there in the game, but I always figured those two wouldn't quite see eye-to-eye, so here it is. Oh, and I slightly exaggerated the 'big brother' thing between Cloud and Yuffie, but I thought it was fitting. I hope you guys approve. :)

-_Ludi_

**Notes to the story: **As far as the war in Wutai goes, I believe that's something that's being explained in more detail in the Before Crisis game, which I haven't got my mitts on yet, so I'm not sure what really happened. The original game was kinda vague on the details of the war, so I've done the best here with the information I got.

-oOo-**

* * *

**

**: Chapter Fifteen : Stolen Materia**

"So you jack-asses are after this Sephiroth too?"

Cid was lying on the wing of the crashed Tiny Bronco as it bucked up and down lightly in the ocean, watching his hand as he dipped it lazily in the water. Cloud, who was getting Aerith's full attention to his wounds along with Barret, nodded his head.

"Yep. Word is he's headed for the Temple of the Ancients, so that's where our next destination is."

"I wonder why he's gone there," Aerith said quietly as she carried on patiently tending Cloud's wound. "I didn't even know a temple for the Cetra existed."

Cloud remained silent. Was this temple the site for Sephiroth's Reunion, or for other sinister plans? Cid interrupted his thoughts by suddenly speaking.

"Well, I guess this means I gotta come with you guys," he sighed, picking a cigarette from the pack beneath his goggles and lighting it morosely. Cloud turned to him in surprise.

"You're coming with us?"

Cid shrugged and swirled the briny water about thoughtfully with his hand.

"Got nothin' better to do. I'll be damned if I know what the hell this Sephiroth business is all about, but those Shinra bastards turned against me, and my dreams of going into space have been shattered for sure. So I might as well."

"What about your wife?" Cait Sith asked.

Cid sat up with indignant surprise on his face, the action causing the plane to rock precariously.

"Shera? My _wife_? Christ, even the thought of marryin' her gives me the heebie-jeebies!"

Cloud shrugged at the others, who glanced at each other in silent incredulity at Cid's words.

"Well, I suppose that's settled then," he finally said. "But how are we going to get to this temple?"

Cid got up and walked back into the cockpit. He began to fiddle brusquely with controls.

"Well, looks like everything's workin'. Seems like it's just the propeller that got damaged. And this plane is still salvageable as a boat, as long as we stay in shallow water. We can still travel in it."

"Where _is_ this temple?" Barret asked impatiently, wincing only faintly as Aerith touched a sore spot.

"Well, don't look at me." Cid shrugged, scratching under his goggles. "I'm just the newbie here!"

Cait Sith spoke up unexpectedly.

"It's somewhere on the East Continent."

Cloud stared at him in surprise.

"How do you know?"

Cait Sith shrugged and said nothing. Cid broke in cheerfully.

"Well, to the East Continent we go! I dunno 'bout you guys, but I'm gettin' itchy feet already!"

* * *

Going to the East Continent was not so simple. For the next day and night torrential storms lashed over the ocean, causing the Tiny Bronco to be swept off course and toward the West Continent instead. To occupy themselves during the wet weather, the group took to emptying out the abundant amounts of water that had begun to leak through the plane. Cid was inconsolable at this, and complained that his beloved aircraft would rust beyond repair if this went on. By the time the rain had stopped, all of them had become sick and tired of hearing his moaning voice. Nevertheless, curmudgeon though Cid was, there was too much of the loveable rogue about him to be angry with him for long. He had a sharp wit and a wry sense of humour that left most of his comrades laughing despite themselves. Only Yuffie regarded him with a less than cordial air, and for the most part the two spent their time avoiding one another. 

It was as the storms abated that they realised they were no longer floating. Opening the door hopefully that morning, Cloud was greeted with sunlight, a cornflower-blue sky - and land. They had finally reached the rocky West Continent.

"Hey guys!" Cloud cried rapturously. "Land! There's land out here!"

Everyone scrambled for the door. Barret, who'd suffered the most in the enclosed environment, was ecstatic.

"At last! No more leaks and freezin' cold!"

He ran out, followed by Cid, Yuffie and Cait Sith, who began crying out in joy at the top of their lungs.

"Much as I hate to admit this," Tifa smiled as she stood beside Cloud, "I feel like doing exactly as those fools over there are."

"Yes," Vincent admitted wryly. "And look over there." He pointed over the horizon, where there stood the faint outline of a town. "I have a feeling that food and a warm bed is beckoning us."

Cloud looked out to the town in the distance and nodded.

"Yes; let's go."

The now enormous group of nine began to trek over the rocky landscape and toward the village. They hadn't got too far when Yuffie, who'd been unusually quiet, suddenly ran ahead of the others.

"Hey, Yuffie!" Cloud called after her. "Where are you going?"

She turned to them, a mischievous smile lighting her boyish face.

"So long, suckers! I'm outta here!"

"Hey!" Cloud watched her race over the hill and toward the town. "What are you talking about!"

Yuffie, however, had disappeared over the hill without a second glance back. Red stared after her suspiciously.

"What is she up to?"

Cloud shrugged, even though he had misgivings himself.

"Well, we couldn't expect her to stay forever. She's unreliable - a professional thief and bandit."

"I'll say," Cid cut in suddenly, an angry tone to his voice. "My materia's disappeared. I'll bet all yours has as well."

"_What_!"

Cloud began to search wildly in his pockets for his materia, but there was none to be found. Everyone else seemed to be having the same trouble too.

"Why, that little..." Barret swore, infuriated. "We need our materia for battles. It's essential and she knows it!"

Cloud stopped and put a hand to his forehead, thinking. It seemed that Yuffie had vanished into the town on the horizon. He turned to the others.

"I'll bet that village over there is her Wutai, her hometown."

"That girl comes from Wutai?" Cid asked, crossing his arms in disbelief. "Where they had the war that made Sephiroth a hero?"

"So she says," Red nodded. "And since your compass tells us we've been travelling due west the past day or so, and since Wutai's on the Western Continent, it would seem, my friend, that that town over there is indeed Wutai."

"You're right!" Tifa exclaimed. "Let's go after her!"

* * *

Wutai was a beautiful tourist village made up of elegant red-roofed pagodas and surrounded by pine forests. Built on the delta of the West Continental coast, pleasant, gushing streams flooded through the village, filling the space with the tranquil, calming sound of running water. However, the most beautiful site of all was a mountain known as the Da-chao Statues. On the side of the rock-face had been carved the images of ancient gods and Buddhas, idols that the Wutainese had worshipped for centuries, and who in return looked over the people with benevolent eyes from their stony faces. On arrival, the group at first were stunned by the wonderful scene that Wutai spread before them. It seemed to be no wonder that it was a thriving tourist town. In fact, the village was so beautiful that they forgot all about Yuffie for a moment. 

"Well, you won't see many places like this one," Cid exclaimed, lighting a fresh cigarette and staring round in fascination. "If Shera could see this!"

"Feelin' homesick?" Barret joked sardonically, earning himself a scowl from Cid.

"Imagine the view from those mountains!" Aerith breathed, pointing to the Da-chao statues. "I'd love to go up there!"

"I hate to spoil your fun, everyone," Cloud interrupted, "but we've got to find Yuffie."

Renewed with their former vigour, the group wandered the village, looking for the girl, but she seemed to have disappeared into thin air.

"Where the hell is she?" Barret cried in annoyance.

"Well, there's only one place we haven't looked," Cloud finally said. He pointed to a tall pagoda that was nestled in between the firs at the far end of the village.

"Guess we gotta look there then," said Cid, and they journeyed past a bubbling river and down into the forest of pines.

A small clearing marked the spot of the pagoda's whereabouts. Clustered around were several other grand and stately buildings. Yuffie could have been in any one of these. The first two Cloud searched with no success. They appeared to be parts of one large home, and were richly decorated. Silk tapestries hung from the walls, screens painted with lotus and cherry-blossom adorned the rooms. Golden statues of the gods stood in prominent places, and bed quilts lay neatly folded on the floor. The aromatic perfume of spices and orange blossom floated round the buildings.

Cloud took this all in in wonderment. He was beginning to half-believe the dubious claim that Yuffie was a princess. She had to be, if she was living in such luxury. But Wutai was a tourist town, everyone knew that. Why should it have royal family?

Sighing, Cloud exited the house and spoke to the others.

"No luck, I'm afraid. She's gone."

"No, she hasn't," Red unexpectedly said. "I can smell her scent. She's round here, somewhere."

"Where?" Cait Sith asked, and Red proceeded to sniff his way past the two houses and to a little stand at the end of the clearing. In the middle of the stand was a large golden gong. Wandering round the construction, Red suddenly gave a howl of delight.

"She's round here!" he growled.

Cloud followed him round to the back of the stand. There, hidden behind a covering of loose cones and pine needles was a small trapdoor.

"Hmm," he said thoughtfully. "I'll bet this is Yuffie's hideout."

"Then let's go inside," prompted Vincent softly. He and Cloud pulled at the trapdoor, straining at the heavy slat of oak. It was not locked. After a few heaves, they managed to open it up. Looking down, they saw an untidy room with bits of paper and brown sacks lying about. No one appeared to be in the room.

Cloud jumped down into the chamber, the others following. On looking round more closely, Cloud realised that this room, for all its sloppiness, was still exquisitely decorated. However, even after turning over everything, Yuffie was still not to be found. Cloud turned round to the others and shook his head.

"She's not here."

Red, nevertheless, managed to sniff out another secret door hidden behind a fringed tapestry. It seemed evident that Yuffie had disappeared behind here. Pulling back the door revealed yet another secret passage. As they entered the dark corridor lit by blazing torches, Cid gave a low whistle.

"Whoa. This is some place. I bet there are tons of these passages underneath the whole of Wutai!"

Amazingly, golden statues still lined even these secret corridors. It appeared that Wutai was a richer tourist town than it was letting on. Cloud began to get suspicious. Was it Yuffie who'd thieved all this gold?

Just as Cloud was passing another precious statue, he suddenly heard a small, slight shuffling sound from behind it. Stopping still abruptly, he warned the others silently that there was something behind the sculpture. They all nodded to him silently. Turning quietly to it, he made as if to shift it aside - but before he could, Yuffie herself bounded out with a thunderous cry and began to sprint down the corridor. Cloud shouted after her.

"Yuffie, stop!"

She turned her head and stuck out her tongue at him.

"You think I'm gonna let you get your materia back, loser!" she cried. "Get real, Cloud!"

"That little minx!" Barret exclaimed and he ran after her heavily. Yuffie almost made it, but Barret's strength and anger were factors she had underestimated greatly. Grabbing hold of her and lifting her off the ground, he brought her triumphantly back to the group, kicking and screaming.

"Let go of me, you big ignoramus!" she cried breathlessly. "I said let go!"

Elbowing him in the stomach, Barret dropped the girl and reeled backward, winded. Yuffie turned to run back down the passageway, but was blocked out totally by Cait Sith's hefty mog. Looking back belligerently in Cloud's direction, she finally accepted that she had been beaten.

"You got me again, electro-head," she spat at him. "I can't believe you got me again!"

"Yuffie, you've been with us long enough to know that this isn't behaviour we can let you get away with!" Tifa rebuked heatedly "You promised us loyalty and instead you broke our trust! Give us back our materia and we'll let bygones be bygones - but _only_ if you give it back!"

"Nothin' doin'!" Yuffie retorted rudely. "I don't care what you do or say to me - I want the stuff, and I'm keepin' it!"

Cloud shook his head. This was getting nowhere.

"Why did you take it, Yuffie?" he asked hotly.

"Mind your own business!" she cried. "Why should you care anyway? All you care 'bout is Sephiroth!"

As Cloud stared back at the angry girl, something clicked in his mind. He began to speak to her slowly.

"You did it for the village, didn't you," he stated. Yuffie lost her angered look and blinked at him.

"What did you say?" she replied in a low voice, soft and vehement.

"You did it because you can't stand Wutai being a tourist town that isn't rich enough!" Cloud levelled at her accusingly. "So you stole all these things to make it wealthier! Am I right?"

"No!" Yuffie cried, tears, surprisingly, lining her eyes.

"You stole all these things!" he persisted. "You stole all these carpets, these statues, these tapestries!"

To Cloud's immense astonishment, Yuffie suddenly spread her arm out and slapped him round the face so hard he didn't know where it had come form. Staring back at her speechlessly, he was stupefied to see Yuffie actually crying.

"How dare you!" she gasped. "I'd _never_ do such a thing! I'd never dishonour Wutai or the Da-Chao! How dare you imply that I would! I hate you, I hate you!"

"_Yuffie_!"

The cry was spoken in an unfamiliar voice, and everyone gazed up in the direction it had come from. Standing at the end of the corridor was a regal yet portly man with neat beard and moustache, dressed in a purple kimono. From his face, and the way with which he carried himself, it was not hard to see that here stood an important gentleman. He stared down at the group in silent anger.

Yuffie, struck almost dumb with sudden fear, spoke stutteringly.

"Fa-father..."

Everyone gaped in surprise at the man, Yuffie's father, who was now gazing at the young girl sternly.

"Yuffie, what are you doing here? You have been missing for months."

"I'm sorry, Father," Yuffie whimpered, but the sturdy man cut her off.

"Sorry? You are a disgrace to our village, running away like that! You should not have come back!"

"I only wanted to help you, Father!" Yuffie cried, still half in tears.

"Yeah, an' steal our materia!" Barret put in angrily. The man stared at him in astonishment, then at Yuffie.

"Is this true?" he demanded.

Yuffie said nothing and hung her head in shame. Her father, realising that here was not the place for a row, tried to quell his wrath somewhat.

"Here," he said shortly, "come with me, all of you."

Bewildered, the group followed him through the corridor and to another trap-door. Climbing up the ladder, Yuffie's father pushed it open and went through. On the other side, Cloud soon found, was a sumptuous throne-room. Cloud gaped at what met his eyes as the man sat down on a plush kang. So Yuffie really was a princess.

The man looked about the hall at the group gathered, his eyes stormy.

"Forgive me, for not having introduced myself. I am Lord Godo, ruler and chieftain of the once-great land of Wutai! But it has been many years since our country knew any greatness." He paused and seemed to sigh, then continued: "Now would someone," he began severely, "mind telling me what's going on here?"

Cloud began to speak hesitantly, feeling increasingly out of his depth. This was not what he had expected.

"I'm sorry, your -um- Majesty," Cloud began falteringly, "but we met your daughter in the Gongaga woods one day whilst on the New Continent. She attacked us, and tried to steal our materia." He paused a little, seeing the sour look Yuffie passed him. "She didn't get away with it, so she decided to join us. Everything was okay until today. When we were walking up to your town, she suddenly made off with our materia."

Godo, who'd been listening intently, turned to Yuffie gravely.

"Yuffie, is this true?"

"Yes," Yuffie replied sulkily.

The man looked down at her with narrowed eyes.

"Then I am ashamed of you! You have disgraced the name of our village! I do not want you here anymore. You are henceforth to be banished from this realm! Tomorrow, you will leave Wutai and never come back!"

She looked up at him; rage on her face for all her tearfulness.

"What I did, I did for Wutai, Father - for you! I did not mean to shame you!"

"Do you really call stealing materia good for our village!" he cried back sternly. "No: it is the worse thing you could ever have done! You have displeased our gods! You are a disgrace!"

Yuffie suddenly stood up straight, her eyes flashing with moisture.

"It is you who is the disgrace, Father!" she replied in an oddly dignified voice.

"What did you say?" Godo was outraged.

"I said, it is _you_ who is the disgrace! Who was it that turned Wutai into a low-down tourist town? Who was it that stained the great name of Wutai? It was you, Father! You are the one who have shamed Leviathan and the gods!"

After a stunned silence, Godo suddenly rose from his seat, fury on his face.

"You think you are justified, don't you! Throwing all these grand words around...you are a miserable daughter! Get out of my sight at once!"

For moment, Yuffie stared at him defiantly. Then, with a short sob, she turned and left the room, slamming the gilt doors shut with a bang. Everyone glanced at one another with eyebrows raised, not daring to say a thing. Letting out a calming breath, Yuffie's father sat back down on his seat.

"Please accept my sincere apologies for my daughter's behaviour," he sighed. "She is such a terrible handful. It's all I can do to keep her in check. I thought she'd run away and was never going to come back. But now that I see what mischief she's been getting up to, I realise that I cannot keep her here. I ensure you that we will return you your materia. But while you are here, please make yourselves at home as reimbursement. We have excellent inns here in Wutai."

Lord Godo's judgement having been made, there was nothing for it but for the eight walked out of the pagoda silently. Once outside, they all turned to each other in surprise.

"Wasn't Yuffie's dad a bit tough back there?" Aerith commented.

"Yeah," Barret exclaimed. "Now that's what I call washin' yer dirty linen in public!"

Cloud did not answer. Something still troubled him. Why had Yuffie thought that stealing their materia would help Wutai at all? He'd have to find her to get an answer.

"I'm going to look for her," Cloud finally decided. Cid stared at him in surprise.

"Why bother? She's bad news and now that she's gone, all I can say is good riddance!"

"But don't you think it's strange?" Cloud asked. "Wutai's a tourist town, yet it has a royal family. What use is tradition to a tourist town? Maybe Yuffie's actions had some method to them."

"Pfft, yeah, like lining her own pockets!" Barret muttered skeptically.

"Or trying to get some respect back for her town," Tifa added, giving Barret a pointed look.

"Hmm. Wutai _was_ the front for the Great War several years back," Cait Sith mused.

"And Wutai lost the war, didn't they," Red put in.

"And who knows what happened to this place after they lost that war," Vincent added. "Or what desperate measures they had to resort to."

There was a silence.

"I'm going to find her," Cloud insisted again, and this time no one stopped him.

* * *

Sauntering off, he went to look for her in the buildings he'd searched before. None of this came to anything. Then, remembering the secret hideout, he decided to look there. Sure enough, when he'd pushed back the trapdoor, there was Yuffie, sitting on a ragged cloth sack and weeping softly. 

Gently, Cloud jumped down into the room and approached her. Yuffie lifted her head and noticed him, then hung it again, wiping viciously at her eyes.

"Go away!" she shouted furiously. "Just leave me alone!"

"Don't you want to talk?" Cloud asked, sitting down next to her on the dusty floor. She shook her head vehemently.

"There's nothing to talk about. I'm a disgrace, right? That's all you need to know."

He let her cry a little bit more, then he spoke again softly to her.

"Tell me, why did you do it, Yuffie? Why would stealing help Wutai?"

She looked up at him acidly, and he could tell she was contemplating on whether to tell him or not. Finally, she hung her head and spoke.

"I _am_ a princess, you know. Well, sort of. I wasn't lying. My father rules Wutai. He's a sort of...chief, or village elder. But, Wutai doesn't run like that anymore. It's a tourist town, and as you say, towns like that don't have rulers."

She paused and wiped a tear from her cheek bitterly, biting her lip.

"You see, it all happened back during the Great War. You may not know this, but back then Wutai was the front for the war. Before then, the Shinra wasn't the big political organization it is now. It was just a weapons company, pure and simple. Then it discovered Mako, and started to make money out of it, soon becoming a world power. This started the Great War. The Shinra tried to suppress all the villages, towns and cities on the Planet. Almost all fell to them. But Wutai remained as the last rebel town. Alone and without allies, we didn't stand a chance. After the war, Wutai was ruined. Where once we were a renowned warrior-clan, we were now a shattered settlement, and we had no money left to restart ourselves. The Shinra took away our materia, so we'd never dare to fight them again. We were crushed, Cloud, really crushed.

"Then, my father decided to turn Wutai into a tourist town. With our natural beauty spots and the Da-chao statues, we were bound to make a lot of money. My father, he shamed our gods, he shamed our great water god, Leviathan. I had to rectify that. I thought that if we became the great battle clan we had been before, Leviathan would be pleased with us again. So I...so I..."

She burst into fresh tears and Cloud awkwardly put an arm round her shoulders.

"I know. You thought that if you got all the materia you could find, and took it back to your father, you would appease the gods and regain Wutai's integrity."

Yuffie nodded miserably.

"Yes. And now I've been sent away in disgrace and my father hates me. It's all too much."

"You know, Yuffie," Cloud said to her kindly, "I think your motivations wereright."

She stared up at him in sudden surprise.

"Do you?"

He nodded with certainty.

"Yes. I believe that it was brave of you to do what you did, and it was great of you to do it for the honour of your village. But it was the way you went about regaining Wutai's integrity that was wrong."

She hung her head again in shame.

"Yeah. I shouldn't have stolen people's things. But at the time, there didn't seem to be any other way. I'm sorry, Cloud."

"It's not me you should be saying sorry to, Yuffie. It's your father."

She looked frightened.

"But he hates me! He doesn't even want to see me again!"

Cloud patted her on the shoulder.

"You've got to tell him what you told me and make him understand why you did what you did, that it was only for the benefit and honour of your hometown. Then he'll forgive you and let you stay back here."

She gazed up at him in enlightenment and admiration.

"Cloud, you're right!" She stood up and suddenly looked at him with a deep affection he had not thought possible from her. "Cloud, we haven't been friends, but..." she lowered her eyes sheepishly, "...you're a good guy really."

"S'okay, Yuffie," he assured her, slightly embarrassed. He was amazed to see her suddenly put her arms around him.

"Be my big brother, will you, Cloud?" she whispered shyly. "I've always wanted a big brother to protect me. Will you be mine for me?"

He smiled to himself.

"Sure I will, Yuffie."

She released him and grinned up at him.

"Guess I gotta face my father now. Oh! I almost forgot!" She pointed out a door hidden behind another tapestry. "Take a look in there! That's where I hid your materia!"

Cloud smiled gratefully.

"Thanks, Yuffie."

"No problem." She turned to go, then stopped and swivelled round slowly. "Cloud?" she ventured uncertainly.

"Yes?"

She looked down at the floor and he could tell that she was thinking hard about what to say next.

"You know, Cloud, since I've been tagging round with you guys, since I've seen what you guys do...I've often wondered: 'what's it all for?'"

"What?"

"Just everything." She shrugged. "This world and everything in it...it just seems so unfair. The Planet is dying because no one cares enough to stop the bad guys. I just wish..."

"What Yuffie?"

She looked up, and her eyes grew wistful.

"I just wish...that sometime, somewhere, I could finally just go to bed at night knowing that tomorrow no one would be in pain anymore."

Cloud was silent a long time. Then he nodded.

He understood that everyone on the Planet felt the same way. But there was no hope left to do anything about it.

They were the only ones left who had enough to soldier on.

-oOo-

* * *

_Next: A debate with Aerith..._


	25. PART 2 Soul Mates

**Disclaimer:** Characters belong to Square-Enix or whatever it's called nowadays...

**A/N:** Sorry for the hugely late update. I don't have an excuse other than that somehow I just never got round to it. Not to mention the busy-ness of the festive season. I'd just like to wish all my readers new and old a merry (belated) Christmas and a very happy New Year! May 2006 bring you all much joy!

-_Ludi_ x

**Notes to the story:** I made up this chapter. Got that? THE EVENTS IN THIS CHAPTER WERE NOT IN THE GAME! I wrote this to show how the bond between Aerith and Cloud was strengthening. Please don't flame me for what I wrote. Constructive criticism is welcome. :)

-oOo-

**

* * *

****: Chapter Sixteen : Soul Mates**

_...This is the way it should be._

Cloud jerked into life. It had finally begun again. He was almost angry at the voice for having left him for so long.

Where have you been? he demanded, incensed. I've been waiting for you.

_And why have you been waiting for me, Cloud? _the voice asked gently.

Why do you think? Cloud shouted into the darkness, searching once again for whoever it was that was speaking. Because you know who I am!

_I was hoping that you would want to know who I was._ There was a despairing tone to the voice as it answered.

Then why don't you just tell me who you are? Cloud retorted bitterly. Anyway, I don't know what you mean by 'this is the way it should be.'

_I mean, _replied the voice, _that it is better not to be chasing Sephiroth._

But I must, Cloud answered. You alone know me most. You know why it is that I must find him.

The voice was beginning to disappear once more, and Cloud knew he would not hear it again.

_And you will find what you seek, _it whispered softly._ But you will lose something dear to you.

* * *

_

Cloud sat up in bed with a jolt, bathed in a cold sweat. He was infuriated. He did not understand why the voice did not tell him outright everything that it knew. Why all these cryptic words, these evasions? What was there to hide? If there was something Cloud should know, why did it have to be told to him in this fashion? And the voice itself - it was a voice that Cloud knew as distinctly familiar, though he had no idea of whom it belonged to. Even the gender of this dream-like phantom remained a tantalising mystery to him.

He sank back in bed heavily, feeling abandoned and alone. He tried to understand, he tried to decipher those enigmatic puzzles the voice set him, but it was all in vain. In the scant minute or so that it spoke to him, he became impossibly frustrated, as though the answers, the speaker's secret identity, were right before him, just out of his grasp, so near yet so far. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he closed his eyes and tried to go back to sleep. But it was impossible. The words the voice had said kept on cantering round his head. Finally, he could stand it no longer. Getting out of bed, he decided to do something constructive instead of wasting his time trying to go to sleep.

Cloud wandered downstairs and into the bar adjoining the inn. The barman was still at the counter, cleaning the odd glass with a pristine white cloth. Cloud strolled up to the bar and leant over it. The man noticed him and smiled as he walked over to serve him.

"You're up pretty late, aren't you?"

"Can't sleep," Cloud replied bleakly.

"Oh, then you'll be wanting a Rising Sun then, won't you."

"Just give me something hard," he replied.

The barman grinned.

"Coming right up."

Immediately and expertly he began to fix the drink. Cloud watched the almost graceful way in which he poured the rich alcoholic mixture into a glass, making the quick movements look like works of art. In a few seconds, the glass was thrown in Cloud's direction with a deft skill that he had seen matched only by Tifa. He snatched it up and, with a melancholy air, swallowed half the cocktail down in one go. It was strong, but sweet, quite unlike anything he'd tasted before. "This is good," he commented rather grudgingly.

"Uh-huh, Wutai's secret recipe, that is. You won't find it anywhere else."The barmanchuckled. "Whether it'll keep you awake or send you to sleep I couldn't say though."

"I think the name implies endless nights without rest," Cloud said wryly. The barman seemed to find this amusing.

"They don't call it Rising Sun for nothing, son." He laughed a bit, then changed the subject. "You guys must be feeling pretty jumpy tonight. I see one of your friends has been sitting here a fair time as well."

Cloud swivelled round to see whom he was referring to. At a table in the corner, Aerith was sitting, staring blankly at a full glass between her fingers.

"She's been here best part of the night," the man remarked off-handly, then went back to his work. Cloud pushed himself off the bar with his elbow and walked silently up to Aerith's table. Pulling up a chair, he spoke nonchalantly to her.

"Mind if I sit here?"

She looked vaguely up at him, a distracted look on her face.

"No, go ahead."

He sat down wearily and drank in silence for a moment or so, not looking at her. Finally, he opened his mouth.

"Didn't think I'd see you round here, Aerith. Having trouble sleeping?"

She raised her eyes toward his face.

"Not really. I'm just thinking, is all."

"Listening to the Ancients?"

She seemed surprised.

"How did you know?"

He shrugged.

"I know you quite a lot better than you think I do, Aerith. Besides, I couldn't imagine you just sitting there all night just thinking now, could I?"

She shifted her gaze back to her hands, swirling the glass' contents round pensively.

"No, I suppose not."

He looked at her for a second or so, taking a swig of the sweet-tasting alcohol. It truly was something to get intoxicated over.

"Aerith," he finally asked. "Do you remember what your real mother was like?"

She was slightly startled by the question.

"My mother? Yes, yes, I remember her."

"What was she like?"

Aerith lowered her lids, her eyes suddenly dim as she cast her mind back over the years, a past marred by sorrow and strife, and yet that he never once heard her complaining about. He knew well the dull ache of losing his own mother, and wondered whether she felt the same dull ache too, in bed, at night. But there was no regret in her eyes as she spoke, her voice suddenly far-away. "I wish I knew as much as I would have liked," she sighed. "But I seem to have a memory of her hair, long and soft and thick and brown. And her eyes, a brilliant green. And the smell of her, when she used to hold me close." She paused, half-smiled and gazed into the depths of her glass. "When I try to put all these fleeting memories together, I imagine that she must have been a very beautiful woman... Although, honestly, I don't really remember her face at all."

Cloud said nothing, and merely looked at her, not knowing what to say. Looking at her, now, it would not have surprised him if her mother _had_ been very beautiful. He didn't know much about the Cetra, but somehow visions of tall, statuesque, elven beauties came to mind.

"But it's stupid really," she concluded, finally looking up at him. "Because mother's not dead - not really.I can still hear her. When I talk of her as gone, it doesn't make sense, because to me, she's very much alive."

"That must be... weird," he remarked.

She nodded.

"Do you remember your father?" he continued. Aerith appeared to think harder this time. Her eyes crept to the ceiling, and stayed fixed there.

"No, I don't really. He wasn't an Ancient...But I remember, he must have loved me very much. He used to tell me so, all the time." A light seemed to cross over her face. "He had...a very tickly moustache. I remember that. And...a white coat I loved to pull."

She remained silent after that, a strangely sentimental look on her face. He sighed, stretched his arms out above his head.

"Looks like you could do with some of this." He indicated to his glass of alcohol. She glanced at it.

"What is it?"

"The Rising Sun. Wutai's specialty." He gave a little flourish with his hands. "Why don't you try some of it?"

She looked indifferent.

"As long as it's better than mine."

"It's strong," he warned her as he slid the glass toward her. She picked it up as though she had not heard and raised it to her lips. Pulling a comical face as she swallowed the liquid, she placed the glass down with a thud.

"Whoa, that _is_ strong."

He received the drink back with a look of irony.

"Girls like you can't handle stuff like this."

She pulled a face at him.

"Oh, come on, Cloud! You're still not into that macho stuff?"

"I'm only kidding," he laughed, drinking from the same place on the rim that she had. "Don't take it personally."

She raised an eyebrow at him and turned to look out of the window. The scenery was dominated by the Da-chao statues that seemed more beautiful in the soft moonlight of the pale indigo night sky. Aerith held in a short breath.

"Doesn't it look beautiful outside? The statues look spectacular from here."

Cloud looked at the panoramic view, feeling warmth at the beauty that was before his eyes. There was still life in the Planet, still enough energy in it to sustain this wondrous land. He felt obliged to protect it, in whatever way possible to him. Aerith, he thought, was the same. Exactly the same as the view she admired so much, a masterpiece of creation that was on its last leg of survival. Finishing his drink in one go, he spoke to her.

"Do you want to go up there?" he asked on a sudden whim.

She gazed round at him in astonishment.

"What, now?"

He nodded and stood up, waiting for her expectantly.

"Well..." She smiled. "All right."

* * *

They climbed up to the Da-chao statues together, the darkness of night not hindering their way, for the moonlight was exceptionally bright, and the rocky paths that wound around the heads of the gods were well-defined in its soft glow. They journeyed right up to the top, and stopped on the great stone hand of the Leviathan. Below, the rooftops of the dwarfling pagodas seemed like they were made of match-sticks, and the firs resembled small bonsai. A gentle breeze wafted coolly at mountain height, sending the aroma of pine sailing past them. 

Aerith looked down at the hand of the god they were standing on.

"How ingenious!" she cried.

"Yes," Cloud agreed. "This god is Leviathan, the water god, and Wutai's protector. He can take form of a water dragon."

"How do you know all this?" Aerith questioned, surprised and intrigued.

Cloud grinned and kicked a bit of stone over one of Leviathan's fingers. It skipped over the edge and out of sight.

"Yuffie told me after she made things up with her dad earlier on today. She's actually half decent when she not being a right royal pain in the arse."

"You're terrible!" Aerith rebuked him as she sat down, dangling her legs precariously off the edge of the hand. Cloud settled down next to her, and for a moment they said nothing to one another.

"It's funny," Cloud finally said reflectively, looking down on the diminutive village. There was not an ounce of fear in him at the height; only a silent respect. "The people here are so religious, so respectful of the spirits they worship. No one else cares. No one thinks about the Planet, or the Lifestream, or the Cetra. All they care about is money, and Mako, and trying to scrape a life out of the dirt the Shinra have left for them." He sighed. "But being in places like this... Like here and Cosmo Canyon, it kind of takes you away from all the misery of the slums and squalor of the villages. It's as if the Shinra and Mako didn't even exist."

Aerith didn't look at him, watching her legs swinging off the edge of Leviathan's stony fingers.

"I guess this is the kind of place we have to fight for," she murmured. The she raised her head to the stars, closed her eyes and said: "I never really knew, Cloud, you know. Practically all my life I spent in the Midgar slums. I couldn't even remember the place my mother and father brought me up in. I never really remembered the grass, or the sky, or the sun, or the moon." She paused, and opened her eyes again. "But finally being out here again, to finally see what the Cetra were striving to protect for so long... I don't regret beginning this journey Cloud, I really don't."

She turned and smiled at him, and despite himself a ghost of a smile played across his mouth.

"Me neither," he replied softly.

There was an awkward silence, and they gazed up at the canopy of glistening stars, shining like diamonds in a cloak of purple velvet.

"Cloud?" she suddenly began, out of the blue. Cloud looked at her, but she did not return the stare.

"What?" he answered into the silence. Aerith lowered her eyelids and fiddled with the loose strands of her hair.

"Do you...do you ever think about dying?"

At first Cloud was startled by the question. Then he gave a wry laugh.

"Are you serious? There's no way I'm gonna be thinking about death."

She seemed curious.

"Why not?"

Cloud looked away, not entirely taken with this new line of conversation.

"Death is the end, and I'll only take it when it comes," he finally returned. "Until then, I'm just going to concentrate on taking care of Sephiroth."

Aerith looked up at him with candid eyes.

"Are you... afraid of death?" she asked him softly. Cloud opened his mouth and then shut it again. It was a subject he'd never really thought about, never really _wanted_ to think about. He didn't know why Aerith was choosing to speak about it at a time like this.

"I guess... I mean, who wouldn't be?" he replied pensively. "Truthfully, it's something I don't really want to think about."

Aerith nodded as though she understood completely.

"I'm not afraid of death. I think you learn to accept it's inevitably in the end. Ever since I started this journey with you and the others, I learnt this all the more so."

"Why's that?" Cloud asked curiously. She looked at him frankly.

"I think it's because being with you lot means that it's easier to die." She gave a little, humourless laugh. "But...it's more than that."

"Has it got something to do with your past?" Cloud questioned, almost instinctively. Aerith shook her head.

"I think it has more to do with my future, rather than my past," she answered soberly. Cloud mulled over the words for while, then shrugged his shoulders indifferently.

"I really don't see the point in all this philosophical stuff about death. As far as I can see, when you're dead, you're dead, and that's the end of it."

"Have you ever thought," Aerith continued reflectively, "that death is not the end at all, but simply a new beginning?"

Cloud paused to think. A slight breeze smoothed against his cheek placidly. He shook his head. Aerith folded her hands neatly, knotted them in and out.

"You heard what Bugenhagen said at Cosmo Canyon. That all life transfers to the Lifestream at the point of death. If the Lifestream is composed of the spirits of living things, then surely the Lifestream must be a living thing in itself." She stopped, and gazed up at the twinkling lights of the stars. "I always wonder," she said softly, "if the stars can hear us talking. If they can hear us now."

Cloud followed her gaze out on to the wide plain of the night sky. The moon was a perfect orb of illuminated light and the stars hung around it like tiny beacons. Was it possible, that the stars were alive like the Planet was? He was interrupted by her voice speaking again gently.

"There was a song my mother used to sing to me when I was little." she remembered softly "It was her way of reminding me of what I was, what I was destined to do and to become. She was determined that, even though I was the last, I should complete the journey. I remember the words well."

"What were they?" he asked quietly.

Her eyes remained downcast and she began to sing the words in a low, sweet voice, filling the words with an emotion Cloud could not detect, something like pride, mixed with pain.

"_Hidden in the words of dreams,_

_Locked inside the future's seams;_

_Floating as if words on wind_

_Where the journey ends_

_And life begins:_

_Inside your breast beats love's gold wings_

_Inside the place where freedom sings_

_A freedom man must take in hand -_

_Sweet freedom - and the Promised Land."_

She finished: and Cloud could almost hear the faraway voices, distant echoes from a world he could not find, repeating the words in resonant whispers. The Cetra. But it was only a dream, and he shook himself awake from it and inhaled a long breath.

"The words are beautiful," he told her quietly. "Somehow, it makes the dream for freedom real, attainable."

She was indignant.

"It's not just a dream! We'll find the Promised Land, and begin a real life where there'll be real freedom. I believe it." She stressed the last sentence. "In my heart, I truly believe it."

Cloud gazed out above him. The stars trembled like crystal gems suspended before him. In them he could almost see the dreams of the future, misty, blurred, distorted. Was it conceivable? That the Planet should live again, that there should be freedom? Was it?

"You'll have to teach me those words one day," he murmured to her, still staring into the indistinct visions in the sky. She seemed delighted to hear his request.

"Would you like that?"

He nodded and smiled at her, glad to have pleased her.

They spent the next few minutes talking idly, then they both decided they should go back to bed. They climbed wearily back down the mountain and into the village. After several drowsy goodnights, they parted ways to their own bedrooms. Cloud climbed the stairs to his room, and in his heart he was very confused. For the first time he realised that he had feelings for Aerith - indistinct feelings that had grown from the time that they had first journeyed from Cosmo Canyon to Mount Nibel. The feelings troubled him, because he hadn't allowed himself to feel for a long time. Feeling was an encumberment, something that took away from the zeal and determination to hunt down and destroy Sephiroth. He had never allowed himself to question their friendship, and yet now he found himself doing so. Why else would he get this feeling inside every time he saw her?

He lay in his bed, and for a long while he remained awake, staring up into the darkness, his mind haunted by the memory of those cold, aquamarine eyes. And then he remembered the song Aerith had taught him, and the words seemed to come to him from a very long distance, sweet and hazy. It was a lullaby as old and precious as time itself, and it was not long before Cloud had closed his eyes, and allowed it to sing him to sleep.

-oOo-

* * *

_Next: The gang return to the Gold Saucer..._


	26. PART 2 Battles and Trials

**Disclaimer:** The characters and places in this story all belong to Square-Enix and the creators of Final Fantasy VII.

**Notes to the story: **This chapter follows the events of the game pretty closely. Of course, the original Battle Arena fight is a lot tougher - I think you have to fight about 5 enemies, but since that'd take way too long, and would be way too boring, I only wrote one fight.

Ciao!

-_Ludi_

-oOo-

**

* * *

****: Chapter Seventeen : Battles and Trials**

The people of Wutai seemed to be well-versed in the legends of the Ancients. Asking Lord Godo of the whereabouts of the Temple of the Ancients confirmed what Cait Sith had said - that it lay somewhere on the East Continent. Cloud was eager to leave Wutai and search for Sephiroth again. They had wasted precious time being caught in the storm and spending the night in Wutai. If they did not start moving soon, then they might lose Sephiroth for good. Godo, however, informed Cloud that it was not possible to simply go straight into the temple. The legends, he explained, said that in order to enter the temple meant having an artifact called the Keystone. With the Keystone alone could access into the inner sanctuary of the temple be obtained - the outer sanctuary meant nothing.

Godo also provided information as to the location of the Keystone. It had reached his ears that a weapon seller east of Gongaga had found the Keystone and was selling it for a large amount of money. Cloud knew he had to act fast. Sephiroth would be after the artifact - and so would the Shinra, who were also after Sephiroth. Cloud personally had become suspicious of the Shinra's motives for capturing the man. While it seemed reasonable at first that he was being hunted for the murder of the late President, it was now more credible that they wanted him out of the way so that they could lay claim to the Promised Land alone. Or perhaps they were hoping that Sephiroth would lead them straight to the Promised Land without them having to do the dirty work themselves. However, it seemed that they had largely underestimated Sephiroth's power, and Cloud felt that sooner or later they would pay for it.

Just before the group had set off, Yuffie had stopped them. She had decided to stay with them. Cloud had had mixed feelings about this, but since he and Yuffie seemed to be getting on better now - and since the group didn't seem the same without her - he decided it couldn't be a bad thing.

"I am going to prove to my father," she'd explained, "that I am a worthy member of the Wutai warrior-clan. And I want to make him forget about what I did to displease him. See?"

And so, after two days in Wutai, the nine began their journey in the Tiny Bronco for the New Continent. Sure enough, to the East of Gongaga village, lying on the edge of a small peninsula, was the small house of the renowned weapon seller. Unfortunately, while the Keystone had indeed come into his possession, it transpired that he had recently sold it to Dio, the fun-loving owner of the Gold Saucer. While Cloud was reluctant to meet Dio again, there was no choice but to ride the Ropeway again up to the Gold Saucer. Those that hadn't visited the amusement park were thrilled to have some proper recreation time, primarily Cid and Yuffie.

"Wow!" Yuffie exclaimed on arrival. "After all that hassle back in Wutai, I could do with a bit of fun!" If anything the Gold Saucer seemed noisier than usual - the music was particularly cheery, and even more actors in stuffed suits were waddling around looking ridiculous. Cloud, who had little time for frivolities anymore, merely grunted.

"Hang on a minute 'little sis'," he said sarcastically. "We're not here to muck around, in case you hadn't noticed. We're here to get the Keystone."

Cid glared at him evilly.

"Cloud, you're such a killjoy. Sometimes I just don't know whether I bother hangin' with you. Even workin' the on Space Program got me more time off than in this here little band."

Cloud ignored the remark.

"Shut up Cid, and smoke your cigarette."

Putting on a disgruntled expression, Cid scowled and stuffed his forever-present cigarette between his lips. Cloud looked at the information screen and scratched the back of his head.

"Now, where are we going to find Dio and the Keystone?"

Cait Sith seemed to know a lot about the affair, which wasn't surprising since he'd worked at the Gold Saucer.

"If you go the Battle Arena, you'll find Dio's Showroom," he told them. "That's where he keeps his special collectors items and puts them on show."

"Well, I suppose we'll just have to go there and ask him nicely," Cloud sighed. "God, I'm going to hate this."

"Don't worry," Aerith told him slyly. "He thinks you're into Sephiroth, remember?"

He stared at her in mock offence.

"That'll be the day. Aerith, I thought you'd know by now that I'm a ladies' man."

Tifa looked at them suspiciously.

"What's going on here?"

"Oh, you know that Dio guy," Barret grinned scurrilously. "He definitely bats for the other side."

"And he'sinto Cloud!" she cried, horrified. "Oh no!"

Cloud's protests went largely unnoticed, and as they walked to Dio's Showroom he was left feeling strangely nervous. The showroom itselfwas a small chamber off the main Battle Square that housed many precious antiques Dio had collected over the years. In fact, many of the items on show seemed fairly dubious, but the only thing that was of interest to Cloud was the Keystone. It rested on a purple cushion on a marble pedestal in the centre of the room. As Cloud and the others were looking up at the tiny, almost insignificant piece of rock, Dio himself entered the hall. He was, of course, delighted to see Cloud again.

"Ah, you've decided to come and visit me again, boy. Such a pleasure to see you."

"You too," Cloud replied dismally, seeing the furtive grins on his friends' faces.

Dio beamed at him, dismissing his less than enthusiastic tone.

"And what can I do for you, my boy?"

Cloud, while secretly aching to shout at him and tell him not to call him 'my boy', spoke through a clenched, false smile.

"I was wondering, Dio. Could you lend me this stone? I need it badly."

Dio frowned.

"Do you want to borrow it, or do you want to keep it?"

"Well..."

Seeing Cloud's uncertainty, Dio suddenly smiled again and crossed his arms over his muscular chest.

"Hmm. You want something and I happen to be the one who has it. I think this sounds like the making of a bargain."

Cloud froze, involuntarily fearing the worst. Nevertheless, he had no choice but to agree to a bargain with Dio, whatever it may be.

"What will it be?"

Dio saw the doubtful look on his face and gave a short laugh.

"There's no need to be so worried. It's only a small thing you could do for me."

"All right," Cloud replied shortly.

"Well," Dio began smilingly, "I'd like you to do a spot of fighting for me in the Battle Arena. Do you think you could?"

"Is this for your personal entertainment?" Cid asked with a hint of disdain, failing to keep his opinions to himself. Dio glowered at him but said nothing to him and continued speaking to Cloud.

"You'll fight against one of my best fighters. Is that okay with you?"

Cloud shrugged, trying to pass off as unconcerned. "If you say so."

Dio grinned. "That's my boy! Now if you could just wait here a moment while I have the arena prepared, and then I shall send for you immediately. If you would just read over the rules while you're waiting..."

Cloud nodded and Dio left with a springy step. Once he was out of earshot, Yuffie broke into giggles.

"Awww, Dio wants big, strong Cloud to prove his strength and manliness!"

Cloud scowled heavily at her, especially when he saw that everyone else was trying to suppress their smiles. "Hey, don't push it!"

"Don't worry, Cloud," Tifa smiled up at him, taking his arm. "_I_ know just how strong and manly you really are!"

"Is that right?" Aerith remarked, raising a well-marked eyebrow.

* * *

Soon Cloud was hurriedly led away to the Battle Arena. This was a raised platform surrounded by a dull, swirling moat, with seats all around for an audience to watch the battles from. As Dio ushered him on to the platform, he grinned at Cloud. 

"Feeling nervous?"

Cloud looked at him in mild disbelief.

"Why should I be feeling nervous?" he asked loftily.

Dio said nothing and snapped his fingers. From a drawbridge on the opposite side of the arena, a man appeared from through the door. Cloud stared up in astonishment. A hulking, muscular man had entered into the arena, wielding a mighty double-edged axe in his oversized hand. He must've been 7 foot at the very least, and weighed at least the same as a fair-sized truck. Dio slapped Cloud cheerfully on the back.

"As I say, ' _The brave never fear the grave_.' Good luck, my boy."

Cloud rolled his eyes in annoyance. Why did he get himself into these things? He was squandering valuable time fighting an axe-wielding maniac, and all for Dio's personal entertainment. He didn't see why he should be put through this waste of time just to get the Keystone. It was getting more than ridiculous.

Drawing his sword, Cloud stepped forward and smiled cockily at his opponent.

"Well, guess we've got to see this thing through then."

The bulky man stumped forward, slapping the handle of his axe menacingly on his palm - the platform vibrated with every step he took.

"Only one of this is gonna see this through, little boy," he growled, "And it ain't gonna be you."

Cloud waggled his finger at him, gesturing for him to come over.

"Then what are you waiting for?"

The man scowled at him.

"You think you're so hot, don't you? Well, you won't be smilin' once I get this axe through you!"

With a loud battle-cry, the larger man raced forward, charging at Cloud with a surprising agility for someone his size, brandishing his weapon with a frightening sturdiness. It was all Cloud could do to roll out of his path as fast as possible. The man crashed past him, sending a rush of air surging past Cloud, the axe narrowly missing his head and slicing a few strands of his hair. The blond wisps fluttered down to the ground like thread. On the floor, Cloud clenched his teeth fiercely. This man was going to be a tough opponent, he could tell.

"Cloud!"

Cloud looked up in surprise to the seats above the arena. The others were standing around, watching him, obviously overwhelmed by the size of Dio's champion fighter. It was Tifa who had been calling, looking down on him with a stricken face.

"Cloud!" she cried. "Look out!"

The man had regained his stance and was advancing toward Cloud, his axe raised high in the air for a strike. Cloud set his jaw. Tifa's cries had distracted him and he hardly had any time to react to the manoeuvre. Again he rolled, leaping to his feet as the man whizzed past once more, burying his axe with a resounding thud into the platform. Incensed, he ripped his blade out of the floor with a roar. To him Cloud was nothing more than an annoying fly that needed to be swatted. Again he charged, but Cloud was ready. Raising his sword horizontally above his head, he just managed to catch the axe's blade as it fell. Using all his strength, Cloud pushed forward with his sword, keeping the axe from slicing through him. Both men struggled desperately to keep the upper hand, and after an exhausting battle to this effect, Cloud finally won. His opponent seemed to be tiring quicker than Cloud, and he keeled backward as Cloud managed to force him backward with his sword.

However, he was not to be outdone by Cloud's unexpected strength. Running at him again, he slashed wildly with his axe, in his fury totally missing his target, who was dodging the assaults with the alacrity of some graceful gazelle. This, nevertheless, failed to impress Cloud's short-tempered adversary.

"I've had enough of this!" he bellowed. "Stop this nonsense and fight me like a man!"

Cloud decided that this pointless little fight was getting nowhere. His rival was evidently all brawn and no brains. It seemed to Cloud that he had no idea of how to handle materia, though it was standard issue with all soldiers or warriors, whether in the Shinra or not. In that case, he resolved, he would beat him with exactly this weak spot. Picking up a round orb of ice materia from his pocket, he fixed it into one of the slots in his weapon. The man, sensing he was up to something, began to charge toward him again, axe raised.

Commanding the power of the materia, Cloud spread the energy about him in a cloak of magic. Extending his arms out toward the roaring beast of a man, a burst of pure energy erupted from his hands. Within seconds it has flashed across the room - the man charged straight into it and was immediately caught in an explosion of blinding blue light - and then he was simply locked in an encasement of glittering, frosty ice, his amazed expression stuck in place like a frozen mask.

Cloud dropped his hands on his knees in exhaustion, unable to believe he'd got through it all so quickly. After a moment of unsure silence, there was a sudden whoop of joy from the audience stands. Cloud stared up at his shouting comrades and couldn't help smiling at them as they applauded him for his quick victory. He hadn't done much, he thought, no need to get so excited about it!

Dio walked into the arena rapturously, and gave Cloud an mighty clap on the back that almost sent him choking.

"Well done my boy!" Dio exclaimed, looking ready to hug Cloud, which horrified Cloud considerably. "Somehow, I knew you'd make it. Here." He handed Cloud the small rock that was the Keystone. "I think I owe you this."

Cloud received the stone gratefully and was escorted out of the arena with the air of a hero. Once outside, he was besieged by his friends.

"Cloud, you did it!" Tifa cried, beside herself with elation. She threw her arms round him ecstatically and embraced him tightly. "I'm so proud of you!"

He gazed down at her in embarrassment.

"What, you think that fat oaf was a challenge, Tifa? He was nothing!"

Cid seemed impressed.

"You know Cloud," he grinned, "I thought you were a wimp. Guess I was wrong."

"Yeah!" Yuffie chuckled. "You sure showed him, bro!"

Beside him Aerith said nothing, but he was surprised and disturbed to feel her clasp his hand in hers and squeeze it lightly before suddenly letting go. Any other day he would've turned and smiled and thanked her, but for some reason, in that insoluble moment when their skin had touched, he'd felt something very new and very different, and somehow he couldn't face her. After a moment she walked away, seemingly unconcerned,her eyes downcast, a slight smile on her face.No one had seen the small exchange, or the sudden troubled look on his face. Only Vincent looked his way, silent, as ever; but with an obscure, esoteric glint to his eye. Maybe he had seen, maybe he had not.

Taking quick control of the surge of emotion, Cloud spoke out exultantly to the others.

"Okay, okay, let's not get too excited." He held up the Keystone triumphantly. "We've got the Keystone, so now we can move on. And I don't know about you guys, but can't wait to get out of here!"

"Aw!" Yuffie's face fell. "I wanted to play on the arcades."

"Don't give Cloud a hard time," Tifa whispered to her harshly. "He just had a gruelling battle, you know."

"Oh, 'gruelling' my foot!" Yuffie retorted rudely, yet she complied with Cloud's wishes to go back to the station anyway. Unfortunately, as they got there, a small, angry crowd had filled up in front of the monorail's tram. Confused, Cloud pushed his way to the front. A woman employee of the Gold Saucer was trying to hold the shouting people back desperately.

"What's going on here?" Cloud asked her, all the while being fiercely jolted by the heaving mob. The woman turned to him, still trying to control the milling of bodies in front of her at the same time.

"I'm sorry, sir," she breathed agitatedly, "but the tram's broken. It won't be fixed until tomorrow morning. No one can get down."

Groaning to himself, Cloud pushed back through to the others.

"What's wrong?" Barret asked, craning his neck for a better look of the crowds.

"The tram's out of orderb" Cloud grumbled. "Now we're stuck here."

Everyone began to moan, except for Yuffie, who was thrilled at the chance to play the arcades. Cait Sith hushed the shouting by raising his hand.

"Hey, listen everyone! I've got an idea! I can get us free rooms at the Ghost Hotel here. I'll just talk to the owners and explain the situation. That okay with you?"

Cloud nodded, pleased.

"That'd be most appreciated. Dammit, why did this have to happen now, when we were all ready to get going after Sephiroth?"

No one bothered to offer an explanation. They all journeyed tiredly back into the Gold Saucer and into the Ghost Square. After a quiet word from Cait Sith to the hotel owner, free rooms were guaranteed for all. While these were being prepared, the nine got the chance to do some catching up.

"Right," Cid began, as they all sat down together in the lobby, "now that we're all nice and settled here together, let me take this opportunity to ask a question that's been buggin' me for ages."

"What's that?" Cloud asked.

Cid took his time producing another cigarette and lighting it with his expert fingers. Taking a long pull and savouring it with a satisfied air, he spoke in his harsh, dissonant voice.

"Like, what the hell is goin' on here? I mean, it's all very well chasin' after this Sephiroth dude, but _why _you're botherin' sure as hell gets me."

"I'm all for it," Cait Sith put in. "Ever since Nibelheim, this has got pretty confusing."

"Yeah." Barret stepped in. "I've been in this here troupe since the beginning, and I _still_ don't get what's goin' on."

Cloud sighed.

"Look, let's just put it this way. Five years ago, I met Sephiroth in Nibelheim. He found out his mother, Jenova, was an Ancient and that made him crazy. He burned down the entire village, killing most of its inhabitants - included my own mother. When I challenged him, he could have killed me, but for some reason, he didn't."

He paused and Cid looked at him intently, letting his ash drop on to carpeted floor unheeded.

"Go on."

"Well, " Cloud continued, "a while ago, Sephiroth came back into my life. Well, sort of. He murdered President Shinra just before the President was about to execute me, Tifa, Barret and Red, and took Jenova with him. Obviously, he's planning on ruling the Planet. By finding the Promised Land, this will become possible." He took in a breath and shrugged. "So there's two elements to this chase. I have to find out why he didn't kill me, why he destroyed my hometown. And we have to save the Planet."

Cid raised an eyebrow.

"Save the Planet? Sounds crazy to me, but I ain't got nothin' better to do, so I guess I'll tag along."

Cloud sat back and creased his forehead in reflection.

"And now it's got more complicated. Sephiroth's having some sort of Reunion that he's invited me to."

"Sounds like fun," Cid commented wryly.

Cloud shook his head.

"But there's some weird connection. These strange, tattooed people have been invited too." He pointed to Red's tattoo. "Red's got one too."

"Yes," Red replied uneasily. "I've been worried about that. I keep on thinking that one day, I'll go mad like those cloaked people."

"But you haven't yet," Tifa cut in, ruffling his fur affectionately. "Think about it - if it was Hojo that turned the others crazy, then you'd be acting crazy too by now. Maybe he didn't finish experimenting on you - maybe he didn't even start it at all!"

"But what if he has?" Red persisted.

Tifa shook her head soothingly.

"I don't believe it! You're as sane as any of us! And a whole lot wiser too! You just have to be strong, Red. If you do turn out like those freaks, we'll stand by you, okay?"

Red lowered his head, only half satisfied. Cloud spoke again after a moment's quiet.

"You know," he began, "I don't know exactly what's driving Sephiroth onward. How does he know where to find the Promised Land? I mean, no one's ever seen it. It's only been mentioned in myths. How do we know it even exists?"

"But it does exist," Aerith suddenly intervened softly from a corner.

Everyone turned toward her.

"Do the Ancients tell you?" Yuffie asked, interested despite herself.

She nodded.

"Yes. They do, though not very often."

Cloud turned to her, forgetting his previous discomfit at what had happened earlier between them.

"Do they tell you where it is?"

She gazed back at him thoughtfully, then removed her eyes from his face.

"It isn't exactly a place I could lead you to," she explained eventually. "You see, the Promised Land is not a physical place."

"It isn't?" Cait Sith was surprised. "Then what is it?"

"I'm not exactly sure what it is," she answered despondently. "But what I know is that it's something that you feel."

"But," Cloud challenged her, "the elders at Cosmo Canyon said it was the Cetra's burial land. How can it be a place you just 'feel'?"

She seemed gratified to hear him question her, as if it was a relief to her to finally speak her mind on the matter.

"I'm not exactly sure how it works, but when the journey is finished, the individual transcends its earthly self and becomes one with the Planet. And I don't mean just understanding and respecting the Planet and all that it is. I mean, really and truly feeling as the Planet, uniting in its wonder, sharing in its pain." Her eyes began to sparkle with fervour. "When this is accomplished, the Cetra shall be at rest. They can live and die in peace. That is the Promised Land."

Cloud was speechless. In all his fantasies of the Promised Land - of streets paved with gold, pollution free cities and green land everywhere - he had not expected this. It was something spiritual and intangible -more than that even -something that none of them would probably ever find.

"Geez," Barret remarked. "Talk about mind-bogglin'."

"Do you think you'll ever find it Aerith?" Cloud asked of her. She did not answer readily, but remained silent for a long while, as though she were carefully treading round the words she would reply with. After a moment or so, she spoke.

"Yes, I think I might." She looked up at him suddenly, her gaze almost questing. "Do you want me to find it, Cloud?"

He did not see the relevance of the question.

"Me? If it is something that will make you and your kind happy, then of course I do. Why, don't you want to find it?"

She took a long time in answering again.

"I...I..." She paused, then stood up, the frown on her face giving way to a large yet wavering smile. "No, nothing. It doesn't matter. I'm tired. I think I'll go up to bed. Goodnight."

She pivoted round quickly and almost ran up the stairs. Cloud stared after her in sudden uneasiness. Why had she evaded his question? Barret gazed after her too, confused.

"Hey, did someone say somethin' out of line? Cloud, did you annoy her?"

"I don't know," he replied shortly, puzzled.

Yuffie seemed bemused with the whole affair.

"Goodnight and that's it? Leviathan's tail, my brain hurts! I've never hung out with anybody who makes me think so much! I'm with an old pal of Sephiroth's, an experiment of Hojo's, a member of the Cetra..." She trailed off with a yawn. "Well, I dunno about you lot, but I'm going to bed too. See ya."

She walked up the stairs and up to her room. Vincent spoke.

"Well, fascinating as this little chat has been, it_ is_ very late. We'd better get some sleep for tomorrow's journey. Isn't that so, Cid?" He turned to Cid. "Cid?"

Cid, however, was still sitting in his corner, mouth still clutching on to his cigarette and snoring loudly through his nose, fast asleep.

-oOo-

* * *

_Next: The traitor in their midst is revealed..._


	27. PART 2 The Cat and the Keystone

**Disclaimer: **All characters in this story belong in their entirety to Square-Enix.

**Notes to the story:** Okay, so I made this about ten times more romantic than it is in the game, but this is a story, y'know. And I missed out most of the date night (hilarious as it is) because it would just take too long and detract from the important stuff between Cloud and Aerith. Enjoy!

-Ludi x

PS: BTW, I know a lot of you have queries about the paradoxes and confusions in this story (mainly about Sephiroth and the identity of the true Sephiroth). The only explanation I can give is that when I wrote this (some 8 years ago after the game first came out) I didn't fully understand the whole Sephiroth thing myself. Actually, I didn't until I played the game again several years later. Unfortunately this had already been written and I couldn't be bothered to revise it. I'm just too lazy. So please forgive the plot holes and such. I apologize for them, but since this is a story that is long under the bridge, I'm not going to change it, even though there are many things I feel unhappy about and would indeed change. I have too many other projects and interests going on now to go back to something I wrote in my teen years. I hope you understand this, and I just want to say thanks so much for the continued support for this fic. It means a lot and I hope the plot holes don't detract too much from the story.

-oOo-**

* * *

**

**: Chapter Eighteen : The Cat and the Keystone**

In the darkness of the bleak hotel room there were questions. For Cloud, it was an on-going struggle just to find out the answers to those questions. The fact was that since Yuffie had so contemptuously told him that all he cared about was Sephiroth, he had begun to question this very actuality with some sort of anxious foreboding. He often pondered on the what the force was that drove him on toward Sephiroth. The thing that had disturbed him most was remembering what Hojo had once asked him:- '_Do you feel as if something is calling you_?'. The trouble was that Cloud had to answer yes to that question. Sometimes it was as though he could not help but pursue Sephiroth with all the hate and vengeance that he could muster, not even know why he was doing so. He had never thought himself capable of feeling such hatred. It scared him, all the more so because most of the time he did not have any idea that he was feeling this emotion in the first place.

Fear and hate. After all this time, Cloud wished that he could go back to the comfort and security of the home he had once known, to the life that he had left behind when he had begun this quest. But the wish was no more than just that: a wish, a fantasy, something that had never existed. He could not remember any comfort in the life he had had in Nibelheim, he did not even remember even being happy there. All his life it seemed there had been no escape from pain, from fear, from unhappiness.

A knock sounded at the door, and interrupted his thoughts. It was Aerith who entered. She looked somehow different, very serious and expectant.

"I didn't interrupt you, did I?" she asked him.

He shook his head. "No. Did you want me? Is there something wrong?"

"No…I was just wondering…" She reddened a little "…Since we're here, why don't we go out and enjoy ourselves?"

Cloud stared at her.

"I owe you one," she continued. "Or had you forgotten?"

"You owe me two actually," he corrected her pointedly.

"Of course…well, why don't we make tonight extra special then?"

He laughed.

"Since you put it that way, I guess we could go out for a while. It's not that late."

* * *

They went to the theatre and on the gondola ride. After all a date was a date, and going to the arcades or the Battle Square was the sort of thing that Cloud had learnt from experience to avoid in the presence of women. He would normally have been inclined to indulge in some silly fun, but somehow this was different. Tonight he wanted to be with her alone, close to her. It was more curiosity on his part than anything else. He had scrutinized their relationship for quite a while now, unable to measure it in any certain terms. He had to admit that he had grown very fond of her, but recent happenings had hinted at the possibility of something more. In a way, being with her was an exercise in assessing his own feelings towards her. 

It was with these awkward thoughts passing through his head that Cloud spent most of the evening with her, and by the time it had almost come to an end he was still uncertain of whether anything had come out of it.

"Do you want to go back?" he asked her after they had left the crowds at the gondola behind.

"No." There was a queer look on her face as she said it. "Cloud's let's talk."

"Where?"

"I don't know. Anywhere where it's quiet."

They went back to the Event Square, back to the now deserted theatre. The lights were out and litter and junk had been cleared away for the next show. They walked down separate aisles, deep in their own thoughts.

"Did you want to talk, Aerith?" Cloud asked after a little while. She climbed the stage and was looking outward with a faraway expression.

"Yes; let's talk," she agreed.

"What about?" he continued, climbing the steps to the platform. She had sat down on the edge, and was swinging her legs like pendulums, like prolonged thoughts.

"Well…" she began, after a pause, "whatever you want to. I don't mind really."

Cloud stared down at her and kicked a neglected piece of rubbish off the edge of the stage.

"That sounds interesting," he noted with a stab of irony.

She laughed a little.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. It's just that last time we had a conversation, you had quite a lot to say." He sat down next to her. "All that morbid stuff – life, death…I didn't like it."

"Didn't you?" she was mildly inquiring.

"I don't think about stuff like that too much," he admitted, a little ashamed about it nonetheless. "It was kind of strange to hear you suddenly come out with it."

"I think about it all the time," she sighed and looked up to the ceiling. "But still, it was nice to talk to you about it, even though you didn't like it. It meant a lot to me."

Cloud did not answer. He felt peculiar about it. He was even more surprised to feel her grasp his hand, and for a moment, he was oddly reminded of what had happened earlier that morning. He felt stupid. It was all so clear to him now. He had never understood…never expected…and yet he _had_, he had known this was going to happen…

"Cloud," she told him softly, "do you remember when we first met?"

He nodded after a moment, his throat thick.

"When we first met," she continued pensively, "I was so afraid. You reminded me so much of…him. The way you looked, acted, your mannerisms…I think…I saw him again in you." She paused, and subconsciously held his hand a little tighter before she spoke again. "Yes, I was afraid, but I'm not anymore. You're different. Things…are different."

They looked out on to the empty rows of plush velvet seats. There were no people to watch them on this stage, to listen to their lines. For Cloud there were plenty of words that he could think but that he could not say. Who did he remind her of, whom did he look like? Was he a substitute, a ghost, an actor for her? Who was he? Who was he for her?

He had no answers to the questions, and when she next spoke he was surprised by her words.

"I'm searching for you, Cloud. I want to meet you."

It was a long time before the word could emerge from his mouth.

"…Searching…?"

She nodded.

"Yes. I know how it is. You're confused, you're on a journey, you're trying to find yourself. I want to see you through it, I want to meet the real you, Cloud."

They said nothing for a long while, but remained still, in the darkness. Somewhere nearby the sound of cheering and applause flooded in from the crowds outside. He did not know what to say to her. He did not understand her, but in that short moment she had touched him, deeper than he had ever been touched. It was as though, somehow, he had been waiting for her to say those words his whole life.

The sounds quietened outside, and then there was silence. Cloud dropped her hand and turned to face her.

"Aerith, I don't understand…"

"You don't need to understand," she assured him and her eyes were dark. "Cloud, I promise, I'll do it…even if it's only for you…"

He had said he was her bodyguard, but now it didn't matter. He'd protect her anyway, he'd do it all too, because he cared for her and he knew that she meant that much to him. He had drawn her close to him, and for the first time he caught the faintest hint of orange blossom that lingered in her hair. It was flowing peace, age-old acquiescence, timeless and yet rare in its unfolding. His lips were on hers, he could not think why he had not done it before, because he knew that they had both felt that way and that she had wanted it too. Her mouth opened against his and he tasted wonder in her mouth, something different to anything he'd ever known before: the beginnings of life, of being, of the existence of the Planet; of knowledge and wisdom and living and loving. He was awed by it, stunned. She was Aerith, last of the Cetra, and she was telling him all her secrets in one single kiss. And when at last it was over he held her against him, and they both sighed with contentment and relief.

"Aerith…"

He tried to, but he could not ask her what it all meant. The words stuck in his throat, words that she had given him, signs and symbols of a language he could not decode. This sudden wonder that they had shared with one another was more than just the culmination of strong yet ambiguous feelings. Rather, it had some spiritual meaning as well, something to be unlocked, but that had broken down barriers nevertheless. In a way, he felt _chosen_ by her, chosen as the recipient for something wildly important and incomprehensible. She'd sent him on a secret mission, as well as telling him, quite plainly, what she felt.

"Shall we go now?" she asked at last.

Cloud did not want to go, because, for the first time in ages, he felt happy. But he reluctantly let go of her, and nodded. They stood up and left the empty rows of seats behind.

* * *

They had just about reached the station when Aerith suddenly started and stopped. Until that moment, Cloud had been lost in his thoughts. Feeling the sudden jolt of Aerith's movement, he halted and looked down at her. 

"What is it?"

Aerith looked up at him, disconcerted.

"Do you see? Over there?"

He followed her gaze across the hallway.

At the other side of the entrance a shadowy figure appeared to be lurking about. As it moved across to one of the exits, Cloud recognised the lumbering figure as Cait Sith's. He took a step forward to take a closer look. At first glance there didn't seem to be anything wrong, but as Cloud looked more closely at Cait Sith's large figure, he saw that the cat was looking about him in an agitated, nervous fashion. His actions were definitely suspicious.

Aerith walked forward the few steps between her and Cloud so that she stood beside him. She stared up at him quizzically.

"What do you think he's doing?" she asked.

"I'm not sure," he replied in a low whisper. "But whatever he's up to, it sure looks suspicious."

She nodded.

"What should we do?"

Cloud didn't really stop to think.

"Let's follow him."

Cait Sith suddenly began to move the Chocobo Racing Square entrance, evidently feeling quite sure that he was not being followed. Cloud kept his eye on him, and spoke through his teeth quietly to Aerith.

"Come on, let's go. Keep right behind me."

Cloud began to move forward after Cait Sith stealthily, Aerith following noiselessly behind him. However, he should have known better than to expect not to be noticed. As Cait Sith began to approach the entrance, he appeared to realise that Cloud was trailing him out of the corner of his eye. He changed direction abruptly, entering the crowds that had been milling from the Event Square. Unfortunately, his mog was too fat to go unnoticed amongst the gathering of people. Cloud and Aerith managed to keep sight of him quite successfully as they elbowed and shoved roughly through the adverse tide of bodies. The mog and the cat wandered right through to the other side and over to the Speed Square entrance, just as Cloud pushed past the last person.

"Are you all right?" Cloud asked Aerith, as she managed to elbow her way beside him. She pulled a face and smoothed a crease in her dress.

"Yes, I'm fine," she replied. "Where's Cait Sith?"

Cloud looked up and sighed.

"The Speed Square. We'd better go before we lose him."

They walked into the Speed Square and looked around warily. Cait Sith was lumbering up the staircase, and Cloud saw that he was moving toward the Chocobo Square. He nudged Aerith.

"See that, he's going to the Chocobo races. Can we get there before he does?"

"I doubt it."

Just as she'd replied, Cait Sith suddenly noticed them standing in the entrance. Unfortunately for him, it was obvious of his chosen destination, and there was no chance left for him to change it now. Suddenly, he picked up his pace drastically, and the mog began to run through to the Chocobo Square. Cloud and Aerith followed after him, as fast as their legs could carry them.

"What do you think he's up to?" Aerith asked, breathlessly.

"I don't know," Cloud answered as they neared the Chocobo Square. "But I have this feeling..."

As they entered the brightly lit square, the sound of helicopter wings could be heard whirring unexpectedly from within. Rushing into the forum, they saw Cait Sith making his way right towards the helicopter. In the cat's hand was something, something Cloud could see very clearly as Cait Sith held it up to whoever it was in the helicopter. He gasped as he and Aerith ran down the steps towards the scene.

"Aerith! It's the Keystone! Cait Sith's got the Keystone!"

Before she could make any reply, the helicopter's occupant stepped out to the door of the aircraft. Cait Sith, seeing Cloud and Aerith approaching fast down the stairs, hastily hurled the Keystone upward. Cloud watched it sail into the air and into the hand of the man waiting in the helicopter. The man, he realised as he looked up, was Tseng. He was addressing Cait Sith in his usual sedate tone.

"Thank you, sir. That was a job well done."

Cait Sith's voice, though still speaking in his high-pitched tone, suddenly had an authoritative quality to it.

"And thank _you_, Tseng. You are to be commended for your dedication. Just make sure you carry out your orders."

"Of course, sir," Tseng replied dryly. He suddenly caught sight of Cloud and Aerith, who'd run up beside Cait Sith. A light seemed to spread across his face. "Here you are, Miss. Aerith! I trust you will soon be following me to the Temple of the Ancients. Well, I shall meet you there! So long!"

He disappeared back into the helicopter, and it flew away into the distance, out of sight. Cloud turned on Cait Sith, who'd been staring after the aircraft with a satisfied expression.

"So it's you!" he exclaimed. "You're the spy!"

Cait Sith turned to them both frankly.

"Yes, I was the spy. I was 'hired' by the Shinra, so to speak. I was able to relay all your movements back to Shinra Headquarters, thus ensuring that we were always one step ahead of you."

Aerith looked at him in dismay.

"But how could you Cait Sith? That's so dirty! And to think I trusted you too!"

He looked slightly conscience-stricken.

"I'm sorry. But this was the only way it could be done."

Cloud felt himself boil over with rage. So all along Cait Sith had caught them out with his cutesy act. He'd probably rigged the whole incident with the Ropeway to buy himself time to steal the Keystone. And to think Cloud had never even thought that he was behind all this.

"Right," he addressed Cait Sith in a vicious tone, "tomorrow you're out of here for good."

"No go, I'm afraid," Cait Sith replied easily. "I'm staying with you, whatever you tell me to do."

"Oh no, you're not," Cloud answered quickly, furious. "I'm chucking you out, you double-crosser!"

Cait Sith suddenly began to act tough.

"I'm sorry to threaten you like this, but there's something you have to understand here. You see, I'm afraid to say that the little girl and Aerith's mother have been taken into our care, so to speak - and the whole of Midgar is in my hands. It isn't safe to disobey me."

"You wouldn't hurt Marlene and mother and the slum people?" Aerith gasped.

Cait Sith looked irritated.

"Of course not! Do you think I'd blow up my whole creation!" He stopped abruptly, realising he'd spoken too much. Then he continued in a calmer voice. "I certainly would not destroy Midgar. I'm not like that anyway. But there are people who would. Understand?"

Cloud glared at him through narrowed eyes.

"I don't believe you'd be crazy enough to do this."

Cait Sith looked at him helplessly and shrugged.

"But this is how it is...no compromises. So why don't we continue as we did?"

Having no choice but to agree, the three walked back to the hotel silently and begrudgingly. The final goodnights were stiff and forced. Cloud waited for Cait Sith to go so that he may speak to Aerith by himself, but the cat seemed to be waiting for Aerith to go so that he could speak to Cloud privately. Aerith, seeing this, sent Cloud a vulnerable look, turned away disenchantedly and walked back to her room. Cloud stared after her angrily. He turned to Cait Sith wrathfully.

"What do you want?"

Cait Sith looked eager to pacify him.

"Listen to me, Cloud. You may not believe this, but I'm on your side. Really."

Cloud snorted loudly.

"Yeah right! All I can say is that when Barret hears that you're from the Shinra, I hope he shoots you down dead!"

"That's impossible and you know it," Cait Sith replied quietly. "This is only a toy body, it means nothing. If you do get rid of me, I could come back in any form. I could be a fly on the wall, a stone in your shoe. No - it's better this way." He paused and thought a moment "Cloud, being with you has made me think. It's your way of life. You don't get paid, you don't get rewarded, you don't get respect. And yet you go on straight for your goals, seeking to save the Planet. It's made me think about my own life. I'm not a good person, but I've realised that I can do my part in saving the Planet too. That's why I want to stay with you, and perhaps give you a bit information from Shinra H.Q.. Besides..." He spoke softly, "I don't want to have to see some of you hurt."

"You mean Aerith?" Cloud questioned, unimpressed. Cait Sith looked sheepish.

"It's not what you're thinking. The fact is, she's the last of the Cetra. What I've realised is that she's the only one who has a right to the Planet or the Promised Land, or whatever it is that we're seeking. And I'm willing to help her out."

Cloud couldn't stand listening to this any further. Sending Cait Sith a disdainful look, he opened his door.

"Well, I'm sure that's very noble of you. I hope it serves you well. Now I'm too tired to listen to anymore of your pathetic excuses. Goodnight."

Leaving the cat to stew on his words in the corridor, Cloud slammed the door shut behind him, sending shock waves through his dark hotel room.

-oOo-

* * *

_Next: Aerith finally faces her destiny..._


	28. PART 2 The Temple of the Ancients

**Disclaimer:** All characters in this story belong in their entirety to Square-Enix.

**Notes to the story:** I injected a little more romance into the whole Aerith/Tseng thing, making it more story-worthy - but basically most of this follows the game pretty accurately. As far as Tseng's death goes, in the game it seems pretty evident that he dies, despite the fact that he later pops up in Advent Children (which was something of a surprise). This is actually the last time Tseng appears in the game, and even though he is not dead in AC, I kept him dead here in order to fit in with the game's events, and also because I'm lazy and can't be bothered to change stuff. Hope that explains things. :) **DiamondxXxDust:** The whole thing with Dio wasn't as overt as I've made it in the story, but it was fairly obvious in the game. I hope you get hold of a copy of FF7 too. It still ranks up there as one of the very best of all time. :) **RaeDragongirl:** You're welcome. My story doesn't follow the game exactly, but I'm glad you're enjoying it nevertheless. But you should be able to play FF7 on an old Playstation, since it was made for Playstation format in 1997. Hell, I bought a PS just to play that game. ;p

Well, that's it for the personal messages... Now onto the story, and as usual, please read, review, and most of all enjoy!

-Ludi x

-oOo-**

* * *

**

**: Chapter Nineteen : The Temple of the Ancients**

Cloud had experienced a terribly fitful sleep that night. His mind had been torn between two things: his 'date' with Aerith, and Cait Sith being a spy.

The latter had preoccupied him the most, primarily because Cloud was in the mood to think about things that tickled his anger. If only he hadn't taken Cait Sith into their group, then they might have caught up with Sephiroth by now. Although he had known there was a spy in their midst, he had not expected it to be Cait Sith. And what was more, he had not expected the spy to be a prominent member of the Shinra, as Cait Sith appeared to be. The way in which Tseng had spoken to him that night had made that fact clear.

However, over the night, Cloud's rage with the cat had deadened. There were several reasons behind this. The first was that he began to believe that Cait Sith was truly repentant. Much as he distrusted the cat, he could see that he was much more devoted to the group than he had been previously. Something in the words Cait Sith had said to him - about his way of life - had genuinely touched him. He had not realised that his life had seemed so to outsiders - he had not even intended it to be so. All he knew was that he must destroy Sephiroth. Making sacrifices had never come into it. The second reason was that Cait Sith could come in useful to Cloud as a member of the Shinra. He felt certain that the cat was willing to collaborate with them.

The third reason was that Cloud had begun to revert his thoughts from Cait Sith to Aerith.

The lucidness of her words still struck him: '_I am searching for you_.' And yet they still remained strange and enigmatic. He had tried to shake off that very sudden feeling that he was moving away from her, even though they'd only just come closer together. He couldn't understand any of it. None of it had made much sense. The only thing that had was the overwhelming willingness he'd had in sharing whatever it was she was giving him. It was something he found difficult to place as an emotion, mainly because he'd never felt it before. But it had been real enough, he realised. He couldn't forget it, even if he tried. It was like her hand. Now that he had searched it, he'd found it impossible to forget its details. And her lips...

Cloud had flushed at the thought of it. The things that she'd told him in that kiss still replayed themselves endlessly to him, but he simply could not comprehend them. In the end, they'd begun to fade away and loose their clarity. Finally, they'd sent him off into a troubled sleep.

Cloud had awoken reluctantly. The others had already gathered downstairs in the lobby, waiting for him. Each one of them seemed either serious or annoyed. Barret was one of the latter.

"The cat here jus' told us 'bout the whole charade," he grumbled instead of greeting Cloud. "I don't believe you're lettin' him stay."

Cloud shot a glance in Aerith's direction, a look that she neither returned nor even noticed. He looked round at the others apologetically.

"Look, we've got no choice but to take him along," he returned briefly yet a little awkwardly, "so let's just forget about what's happened, okay?"

Cait Sith nodded.

"Thanks, Cloud." He turned to the others. "I'm sorry guys, but this is the way it is. And believe it or not, I'm here to help you lot."

"How are you supposed to be helping us?" Tifa interrupted hotly. "How do you expect us to ever trust you again?"

"I could make a case for myself," Cait Sith replied with a short shrug, "but it'd be pointless. What matters now is finding Sephiroth. Right, Cloud?"

Everyone looked at Cloud expectantly, waiting for words to be said, waiting for any kind of confrontation. But Cloud had already weighed the matter in his mind overnight. Instead he nodded, a little reluctantly, but firmly too.

"Right," he said grimly. Everyone apart from Aerith glanced at one another, surprised and shocked; Barret looked ready to start a fight. Cait Sith, however, showed no signs of noticing.

"Then let's keep the conflict to a minimum," he began to speak in a business-like fashion. "Sephiroth is our priority, and as it happen, my sources back at the Shinra H.Q. are telling me that the Temple of the Ancients is on an island east over the sea, just off the East Continent. If we take the Tiny Bronco, we should be able to find it."

Cloud, who'd been listening cross-armed, nodded.

"All right. We'll take the Tiny Bronco eastward."

Barret looked doubtful. "Cloud, are you sure...?" he broke in, but Cloud silenced him.

"Cait Sith's right, much as I hate to admit it. We have little choice. The Shinra may be ahead of us now, but Sephiroth's still our main goal and we still have a chance to catch up. Get the Tiny Bronco ready, Cid. We're leaving."

-oOo-

The trip to the Temple of the Ancients did not take long, considering the wild sea that the nine had to cross in order to get to the island that housed it. Eventually, they got there, and could not waste any time in getting to the temple. It was obvious that Tseng and the Shinra had entered the building already, but how far they'd got was a mystery. And Sephiroth's movements so far were also ambiguous. If he had also infiltrated the temple, then Cloud would have to be even quicker in order to get somewhere.

The island was quite a large one. The actual temple lay to the northeast side of the continent, in the middle of a dense, thick forest. The building was a ziggurat formation of yellowed stone, magnificent and imposing on the line of a misty horizon. The group had been enchanted by its mystic aura. It seemed likely that no one had entered this temple, indeed this very island, in many years. Perhaps they had been the first to view this wonderful landscape for centuries. Images of the Cetra, a long-lost civilisation, climbing those tall stairs and worshipping whatever it was that they had worshipped abounded. Or maybe this had not been a tribute to a set of gods. Perhaps this had been the place where the Ancients had gathered, and sought to find the Promised Land - the end of their journey - together. Cloud had considered asking Aerith whether her mother knew the answers to these questions, but somehow, he had not the courage to ask her. Even though he had realised that more than just friendship had awakened in him toward her, he still believed that he would never be able to act normally toward her again. This, in itself, had made him feel slightly disappointed. He had not bargained on this happening in the middle of such a momentous quest.

Cloud was reluctant to bring the whole group into the temple with him. There was no evidence to suggest that Sephiroth was there already - he could still be searching for the Keystone, unless he was waiting for the Shinra to do the job for him. So the next problem was whom Cloud was to take up with him. This Aerith readily agreed to do, but this had been expected anyway. The temple was a part of what she was, and it wouldn't have been right not to let her go with them. Her knowledge of the Ancients would also probably prove invaluable. It was the others who fought about who should go too.

"Let me go with you, Cloud," Tifa insisted. "I'm in the mood for a good fight."

Cloud said nothing for a moment, finding that the suggestion didn't appeal to him. Whatever had happened between him and Aerith the night before had unsettled him, and having Tifa in their little group would've been more than he could take. Cloud wasn't stupid. If Tifa sensed there was something between the two of them, there was the distinct possibility of a distaster occurring. And things were complicated enough already.

"I'd rather not have you come, Tifa," he replied at last. "It's dangerous up there, what with the Shinra and Sephiroth all meeting up there at the same time."

"But Aerith's going," Tifa muttered sullenly.

"But it's different," Aerith explained earnestly, her sweetness of tone instantly disrupting the shadow on Tifa's face. "What I might find out in that Temple could answer all the questions I've ever asked about myself and the Cetra. It was the home of my people."

"Yes, I know Aerith," Tifa replied uncomfortably. "But I..."

"I'll come!" Cait Sith chimed in before Tifa could finish. "After all, it was me who got you into all this mess."

"Says the traitor," Barret muttered under his breath.

"You still don't trust me, do you?" Cait Sith sighed loudly, then spoke in a sanguine voice to Cloud. "I'm gonna prove to you that I'm a decent, trustworthy human being."

"Should be a bit difficult," Cid put in, crossing his arms, "seeing as you're a cat."

Cait Sith was about to argue heavily with him, when Aerith cut in.

"Look, Cait Sith, you can come if you want to, but please can we just go without fighting each other first?"

Cait Sith looked crestfallen.

"Sorry, Aerith, you're right." He turned to Cloud expectantly. "What d'you say, Cloud? Let me join you and Aerith and I'll play fair, I promise."

Cloud sighed and shrugged, despite his misgivings. "All right. One more chance. But if this is a trap..."

"No traps," Cait Sith insisted seriously. "I swear it. I don't know what's in there and neither do the Shinra. We're all walking in blind. The playing field's level, and besides, I told you - I want to help."

The scepticism was still evident on everyone's expressions, but Cloud was aching to continue the persuit and knew there was no time for bickering.

"Okay," he declared decidedly, "we're going in. It's going to be hectic up there, what with Tseng and Sephiroth, so anything could happen. I don't know how long we're going to be, but give it a day or so, okay? If we're not back with the Black Materia after then, you'll know something's happened."

Tifa reached out and lightly squeezed his hand.

"Cloud, good luck. You'll come back, I know you will."

Cloud nodded, smiling softly at her.

"I will."

-oOo-

Waving goodbye to the waiting party left behind, Cloud and his small band set off through the forest and toward the temple. It was a full hour's grinding trek before they were standing in the looming shadow of the awesome and magnificent Temple of the Ancients. A towering row of steps led to the temple's entrance. It looked as if it would take an age to simply scale the stairs. Cloud gave a low whistle.

"That sure is some staircase."

Cait Sith chuckled.

"It'll probably take a day to get up that alone. The others will probably think we're dead by the time we reach the top. Don't you think, Aerith?"

Aerith did not reply. She was staring up at the temple, her face almost ghostly, her hands clenched so tight they were white.

"Aerith?" Cloud reached out to touch her arm, but she suddenly began to run up the stairs very fast. Cloud attempted to follow her, but stopped. Something in her face had struck him, and besides, he found it impossible to climb the steps at the pace she had.

Nevertheless, she had not got very far when she stopped and stood quite still, her body facing the building.

"Aerith, what is it?" Cloud called out loud to her. She did not turn.

"I can hear them!" she replied, an exultant note in her voice. "I can hear them, Cloud!"

She dropped flat down onto the ground quite suddenly, her ear against the cold, stone step. She began to speak loudly.

"What is it that you're saying? Yes, I understand...You're frightened...and yet you're glad I'm here..." Her eyes closed, shut tight, and then finally opened again. "No, I'm sorry...I can't hear you anymore..."

Cloud shook himself out of his trance-like state. He began to climb up the stairs, until he reached her form lying outstretched on the floor. He gripped her arm to lift her up, but she did not respond. Her body felt like rock to his touch, like a stone statue. He breathed in a painful breath.

"Aerith...get up."

She stood up then, but her eyes remained focused on the distance.

"Cloud, I heard them. They're calling to me, loudly..."

Cait Sith came bounding up to them.

"Aerith, what happened? The Cetra, were they speaking to you?"

For a moment, something indescribable passed over her eyes; then she turned to Cait Sith and smiled her warm, cheerful smile.

"Yes, they did. It's made me feel happy - I'm not afraid anymore." She turned back. "Let's go inside!"

They walked up the flight of stairs, each step an achievement in itself, there were so many. Once at the top, they took a few minutes rest to catch their breath. Cloud would have spent longer, had it not been for Aerith's eagerness to enter the temple. He hadn't the heart to hold her back.

The temple's hallway was like nothing the three of them had ever experienced before. Murals decorated the walls in faded paint, pictures of a past that had been lost even to history. Argent, gold and bronze glittered in the dim light of the flaming torches. In the middle of the room stood a small, altar-like table, shimmering in glistening gold, and adorned with ancient symbols. On its top face was a deep depression, as though a piece of the altar were missing. Apart from the table, there was nothing else: no doorway, no entrance that they might go through.

The three had not got over their wonder when a slumped figure appeared from behind the altar and began to drag itself forward.

"So. At last you are here."

As the form moved forward into the light, Cloud saw that it was Tseng. He was clutching at his stomach with an agonised expression etched upon his features - there was blood oozing from between his fingers and onto the floor. Aerith gasped.

"Tseng! What's happened to you!"

Tseng smiled faintly, leant against the edge of the low altar.

"Sephiroth...he's here."

"Sephiroth! Did he come before you did?" Cloud demanded. Tseng shook his head.

"No. I opened the gateway to the Temple of the Ancients with the Keystone. He came...he stabbed me with his sword. I had no idea..."

He coughed raspingly, fell back against the golden table, leaving a trail of blood on the timeworn fresco. Aerith moved toward him and knelt down beside him, tenderly lifting his head and cradling it in her arms.

"Tseng..."

He gazed into her face, a look of wonder glazing his eyes. For the first time, a smile tried to lighten his face.

"Aerith, dear, sweet Aerith...who'd have thought it would have ended like this?"

She shook her head, tears in her eyes.

"Tseng, please don't talk like this..."

"No." His voice was firm and resolute as he said it. "This is the end for me. And I don't regret what I did for the Shinra." He closed his eyes. "But you're the last, Aerith. You've got to stop them all, before it's too late."

She did not answer. Cloud saw that her attempt to fight back her tears was too much for anything else. Tseng opened his eyes and saw her pain. Raising his clean hand to her cheek, he gently wiped a tear away.

"Aerith, don't cry." He smiled at her, a tired, resigned smile. "I love you..."

She held him to her for a while. Then he shifted himself away from her, onto the cold floor.

"Take the Keystone and place it on the altar. A door will open. Do you understand?" She nodded and he seemed relieved. "Then tell Elena," he began in an almost inaudible voice, "tell her...to carry on being a good Turk...please."

Aerith nodded, ran a hand through his black hair, then stood up slowly, never taking her eyes off him. Cloud walked up to her, hung his head as he stole a look at Tseng. His eyes were closed, his face white and harggard. He turned his eyes to Aerith, but her hair was covering her face. He spoke uncomfortably.

"Do you...want us to leave?"

Aerith shook her head.

"No, don't. Don't leave me." She turned and buried her head into his chest and he could feel the moisture of her tears soaking through his top.

"Aerith..."

"Oh, Cloud," she said, her voice muffled. "I can't help feeling so sorry for him, it's so stupid, I know. But I really can't help it." She stood back slowly, wiping her eyes. "I knew him when I was just a little girl. Even then, I knew he was a good man, underneath. And I always knew he liked me, in his own awkward way." She lowered her voice. "There are few people in this world that know me. But he..."

Cait Sith encouragingly handed her a tissue.

"Please don't cry, Aerith," he begged almost shyly. "It makes me sad to see you unhappy."

She tried to laugh and wiped at her eyes plaintively with the tissue.

"Oh, Cait Sith, there's no need to pretend. I'm all right, really I am."

"Aerith," Cloud tried to place a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry."

She looked up at him gratefully.

"Don't be, Cloud." Her face changed and suddenly she looked determined. "Let's move on. Cloud, we can't let Sephiroth get away with the Black Materia."

He nodded wordlessly. Bending down, he picked up the Keystone from between Tseng's cold fingers. Then he stood up and walked to the altar. The Keystone looked as if it would fit into the depression on the surface. He turned round to the others.

"Let's hope this works."

Cloud lifted his hand toward the indentation in the altar. Carefully, he placed the stone into the hole. It fit perfectly.

There was nothing. Cloud looked round at the others.

"I guess Tseng was mistaken."

No sooner had he said the words, than a reverberating rumble shook the temple. The room began to shudder raucously and the Keystone started to leap up in its seat in a wild, jumbled dance. Aerith stumbled forward and grasped on to Cloud's arm.

"Cloud, what's happening!"

Cloud didn't have a chance to reply. At the bottom of the altar, a shaft began to open up. The three of them stared down into it in surprise, as a flight of stairs appeared leading down into the depths of the earth. Finally, the growling and shaking ceased, and the ground seemed to level out. Cait Sith stared down the hole at the bottom of the altar.

"Do you think it's safe to go down there?"

They were silent for a moment or so, until Aerith walked to the first step.

"Yes, it's safe," she told them softly. "The real temple is down here. This is only the outer sanctuary." She took a step down, stopped and looked back over her shoulder. "They're waiting for us," she whispered, and all Cloud and Cait Sith could do was watch the shadows swallow her before following in her wake.

-oOo-

They wandered down the stone steps wondrously, their feet clanging resonantly down the long-forgotten corridor. Ancient patterns had been etched on to the walls that surrounded them and, where a dank, musty smell had been anticipated, a light, fresh fragrance that was quite indescribable floated about them. As they reached the end of the tunnel staircase, a soft, cloudy light marked the entrance into the so-called inner sanctuary.

Passing through this hazy light brought a slight disappointment to the three as they entered into the next chamber. Instead of being led into the inner sanctum, a huge Escher-like maze greeted their eyes. Tall flagstone stairs, platforms and archways seemed to meld into each other, steps leading in and out of each other, and chambers where they should not be. Vines sprawled over the walls, moss crept across the smooth stone floor. A lingering mist was settling over the labyrinth, causing the mystifying layout to become even more so.

Cloud waved his hand about in order to try to clear away some of the fog lying about them.

"Great," he muttered in dismay. "How on earth are we going to find our way through this?"

Aerith moved forward and stared about her as though entranced.

"It's all right," she finally told them with assurance. "Follow me."

Without waiting for any sort of compliance from the other two, she wandered forward and down a flight of steps, right into the heart of the maze. Shrugging their shoulders, Cloud and Cait Sith clattered down the steps after her. Although they kept her in sight for several minutes, they seemed to get nowhere. She appeared to drift through the tangle of stone construction like a thin, graceful ghost. Then, quite suddenly, she stopped. Cloud and Cait Sith halted directly behind her.

"Aerith, what is it?" Cloud whispered, half afraid at the silently observant look in her eye. In answer to his question she pointed upward to an archway on a platform above them.

"Look up, there."

Cloud and Cait Sith moved their eyes to the spot she was pointing out. There, looking down on them through eyes curtained with wrinkled skin was a short, squat, ugly-looking creature, very much like a dwarf. A cascading white beard tumbled down a faded robe to his feet.

"Ugh!" Cait Sith exclaimed. "Who's that?"

Aerith stayed staring up at the deformed figure, wonder on her face.

"He's...he's one of my own," she whispered.

"What!" Cait Sith stared at her with a mixture of disbelief and embarrassment. "You mean that guy is one of the Cetra?"

Aerith did not answer. She seemed engrossed in the presence of the other man, who stared straight back down at her and then suddenly turned round and disappeared. Cloud turned to her.

"Aerith, what happened?"

She remained with her eyes cast upward as she spoke.

"He...he spoke to me. He wants me to follow." She swivelled round to face Cloud, her eyes glimmering. "We've got to follow him Cloud, he's got something to say!"

She ran up a flight of stairs hurriedly, leaving the other two to stare at her in bewilderment.

"How does she know where to go?" Cait Sith questioned Cloud, but he could not come up with a definite answer.

"The Ancients are telling her, I suppose." He gazed up at her slowly disappearing form. His heart gave a wrench of indescribable emotion as he watched her move away from them. At all costs, he suddenly thought, he must not lose her. If she disappeared into the mist and never returned, he truly felt as if all would be lost. With this disturbing thought pricking his mind, he turned and raced the stairs after her.

"Cloud, wait! Cloud...!"

But Cloud could not stop to wait for Cait Sith, nor heed his calls. Reaching the stairs and stopping, he waved away the haze before his eyes, and vaguely saw Aerith's figure moving through an archway and into a small chamber. Hardly able to breath, he picked up his pace again and traced her steps into the room.

"Aerith!"

He halted.

The chamber was a small, dark room, lit only by two dim torches. In the murky, shadowy centre stood the misshapen man, his partially sightless eyes staring at the strangers with a kind of pitiful expression. Aerith was standing, facing away from Cloud, gazing back at the old man. Cloud found himself rooted to the ground, unable to move or speak. He wanted to call her name, question her, but it was impossible, he couldn't move his lips. Aerith was moving forward toward the man, who followed her with his eyes, a look that imparted hope on his face. Cait Sith, finally catching up with the two, stopped behind Cloud breathlessly and spoke.

"Cloud, what's going on?"

He didn't reply, but remained facing Aerith and the man. Cait Sith, seeing his sombreness, looked up also. Aerith had approached the man, was standing close beside him. As she did so, the old man's doleful face suddenly became animated. He began to talk to her, in some sort of fashion - perhaps by telepathy. Cloud could not tell because though the man's mouth was moving, no words were flowing forth. Aerith listened intently for a moment or two, then she began to relay back his messages in a small, soft voice.

"He...he says that he is no longer here, that he is speaking from beyond another realm. This is not his real body, but a...a sort of spirit form that has been sent to guard this temple. While the others have moved on, he has been left behind to carry out his duty." She paused, and for a moment pain clouded her delicate features. "He's telling me that this form he is occupying is dying. He says that he is glad I am here, for I will be the one to bring him and the others to peace. He...he says 'good luck.'"

She stood back and the man continued to make insistent signs to her with his mouth. Closing her eyes in bitter anguish, she shook her head slowly.

"No," she whispered. "I can't understand you anymore...I'm sorry."

The man, sensing that she had lost touch with him, faltered in his silent speech helplessly and began to shuffle toward a broad staircase, lit by blazing torches, to the side of the room. With a quivering finger he motioned for them to the go through.

"Go down there?" Aerith asked him. The man nodded to her. She hesitated. Cloud, seeing this, walked up to her slowly.

"Aerith, is it safe down there?"

She looked down the steps and did not turn to him.

"Yes, I think so." She paused for a moment. "There's something down there. I think it's important."

Slowly, with a reverence that they could no longer hide, they followed Aerith down the steps. At the bottom was a large circular chamber. In the centre of the room was a sort of pond, full of some prismatic kind of liquid. Broken pillars surrounded it, crumbling with age. The liquid, however, shone an iridescent light on to the walls of the chamber, conveying a fresh, unspoiled atmosphere. Aerith circled the pool at a leisurely speed, staring into the slowly shifting waters. Cloud watched her patiently walk round with his eyes.

"Aerith, what is this?"

She stopped and stood up straight, spoke to Cloud in a softly excited voice.

"I've finally got it!"

"Got what?"

She gazed across at him with dancing eyes.

"This temple, Cloud, it's to do with time. It is a shrine that houses the brain or the memory of the Cetra. Everything that happens within these walls is recorded in this pool."

"So we can see the Cetra in the pool?" Cait Sith asked, confused.

"Alas, there is no one left to see it, save for I." Aerith gazed into the glowing liquid pensively. "In the past, the Cetra would come here to spread their messages, their knowledge, to others of their race. The Cetra could converse with their ancestors or impart their wisdom to their descendants. It's...sort of like a place where the Cetra, every single one of them through history, can meet together, be together."

She halted and Cloud spoke.

"Can you feel their knowledge?"

She looked up at him as though startled.

"Yes..."she replied shortly. "But there is so much of it locked inside this pool, that it's confusing." She paused. "But there's something the Cetra want to show you."

"Show me?" Cloud was surprised. Aerith stared up at him, and there was a strange, intelligent, knowing look in her eye.

"They know you, Cloud."

"Who? The Cetra?"

She nodded.

"Yes. They can feel a part of you. It frightens them, but they think they can help."

"I don't understand."

She gestured for him and Cait Sith to join her.

"Come here."

Feeling mind-boggled and perplexed, the two scaled the edge of the pond and joined her at the side. Aerith waited for them to stand beside her, then closed her eyes. For a minute or two, she remained as such, then the silence was interrupted from a sudden burst from the pool. Cloud started. The liquid, he saw, had begun to buckle and swirl, and the room was filling with an ever-growing shimmering light. Then, another burst from the water sounded and a flash of light caused Cloud to shield his eyes hastily. When he opened them, he saw that they were no longer in the chamber, but in a long, gold room with solid, gilt pillars.

He stared round in wonder and amazement. The room was beautiful, with strange signs and paintings embellishing the shining walls. At the end of the room was a high table-like platform, like an altar.

"Where are we?" he breathed.

Aerith, who had been standing next to him quietly all the while, raised a finger to her lips.

"Shh."

As she did this action, a door at the far end of the room opened. To their bewilderment, Tseng's figure walked through the door and into the room. Wonderment etched his face as he too gazed round the glimmering room.

Cait Sith gasped in surprise.

"Tseng! But he's dead!"

Aerith shook her head.

"This is only a past event that has been locked into the pool's memory. You will see what happens."

Mystified, they turned back to the scene. Tseng was walking up to the altar at the end of the chamber, neither registering nor hearing the other three. When he got to the end, he turned.

"Come in, Elena. There's nothing here to worry about."

Cloud blinked in surprise. It was almost as if this past event was happening in the present, everything was so clear.

Elena had emerged from the door and was looking round in awe.

"Tseng, what is this place? It's beautiful."

Tseng, who'd been examining the altar fastidiously, looked up at his comrade.

"This is the main sanctuary. And this is the altar on which we'll find the Black Materia."

Elena walked up to join him and peered over his shoulder to look.

"But I don't see the Black Materia here," she said, puzzled. Tseng stood back and looked carefully at the altar.

"I know. But we must find it before Sephiroth comes." He turned to Elena. "Elena, report at once to the others, and tell them that we've found the Black Materia. I'll come back with it later."

Elena nodded assuredly.

"Of course, Tseng. Anything else?"

He shook his head.

"No, nothing." He did not watch her leave, but suddenly spoke before she went out of the room. "Oh, Elena. There is something I'd like to ask you."

She turned hopefully.

"What's that?"

"I was wondering," there was no emotion on his face, "if after this job's finished, you'd like to go to dinner tonight?"

She gazed at him with a mixture of rapturous pleasure.

"Oh, Tseng, do you mean that? Of course I would." She stopped and blushed. "Oh...I'd better get going with this report."

He nodded.

"Yes."

Elena, much satisfied, hurried out of the room, leaving Tseng to carry on with his job. As the doors closed, Tseng let out a breath and shook his head.

"What do I do to get this Black Materia?"

As he was saying this, another sound indicated some movement at the door. Tseng turned.

"Elena?"

The door opened, but it was not Elena who entered. Instead, Sephiroth stepped inside the room, sword in hand, his boots clattering on the golden floor, as he walked forward, his face full of diabolical intent. For the first time, surprise filled Tseng's sedate features, then impregnable fear as the villain drew closer toward him, the unrestrained look of death in his eye.

"Sephiroth!"

-oOo-

* * *

_Next: Sephiroth finally makes his move and leaves Cloud reeling in the process..._


	29. PART 2 Black Materia

**Disclaimer:** All characters in this story belong to Square-Enix or whoever it is that owns Final Fantasy these days.

**Notes to the story:** This chapter pretty much follows the game almost exactly, apart from obvious tweakings of the dialogue.

Sorry it took so long to update this. Unfortunately, when I went to Japan I forgot to bring the disc with this story with me. But now I'm back in the UK on holiday, and this time I'll remember to bring the disc back with me to Japan. :)

Enjoy.

-Ludi x

-oOo-

* * *

**: Chapter Twenty : Black Materia**

The three watchers watched in trepidation as the image of Sephiroth walked wordlessly down the pillared aisle, a lopsided grin marring the haughty beauty of his face.

"Yes, it is I. I have come to claim what is rightfully mine." His low, commanding voice filled the resonant chamber sonorously. "As last of the Cetra."

Tseng stood back, fear seeping into his features now; yet still he retained his ground.

"You are not the last of the Cetra," he replied, his voice betraying a slight tremour as he spoke. "There is another."

Sephiroth gave a short, soft laugh.

"You mean the girl? Her presence hardly concerns me. Soon she shall be destroyed as all you other poor, insignificant folk shall be."

"What do you mean?"

Sephiroth glared at him with those two piercingly lucid blue eyes, walking closer, always walking closer.

"What do I mean?" His eyes narrowed to cat-like slits, his voice trembled with a barely disguised strain of triumph, "Only this - that with the Black Materia I shall bring forth the ancient monster and shall rule the world!"

His voice broke into wild laughter, startling Tseng, who was becoming more and more apprehensive with every step Sephiroth advanced toward him. He spoke waveringly.

"A monster? How can you rule the Planet by summoning a monster?"

Sephiroth abruptly stopped laughing and stopped in front of the trmebling form of the Turk, his gaze scornful.

"You are beginning to tire me, mortal." He deliberately ran a gloved finger over the edge of his blade, causing Tseng to quiver in fear. "You Shinra, you call yourselves leaders of the world, but you are _nothing _compared to the power of Jenova and her race."

Those softly spoken words had lulled Tseng into a false sense of security; there was a sudden and unexpected movement and Sephiroth's blade was cleaving effortlessly through the air, faster than thought; Tseng had had made no attempt to defend himself, and in the next second he was swaying backward, cut through to the stomach, holding on to his wound in agony. Sephiroth stared down contemptuously at him, no remorse in his eyes.

"Why?" Tseng croaked, his voice thick with pain and fear. "If you are of the Cetra, why all this killing and bloodshed?"

Sephiroth's eyes narrowed.

"It is my right that I should kill you," he spoke coldly. "Be thankful that you shall not witness the calamity that meets those fools who live."

With this foreboding prediction, the image before the three watchers began to shift and dwindle in front of their eyes, finally waning into nothingness. Cloud and the others were back in the room with the pool, standing beside the translucent water. Becoming slowly accustomed to the relatively dark room, Cloud turned to Aerith.

"What was Sephiroth talking about? He mentioned Black Materia. What's that?"

Aerith rested a hand on her forehead as though tired.

"I'm not sure." She looked up. "We must go to Sephiroth."

"But how do we know where the room with the altar is?" Cloud queried. His question was not left unanswered for long, for Aerith began to wander out of the room and through a corridor that Cloud had not even noticed existed. At the end of this dark, murky corridor was another capacious circular room. In the middle of the room was a large chasm, which could only be crossed by the hands of a large, moving clock-face. Around this clock-face were twelve doors, the ninth of which was the one the three of them had just exited from. Cloud stood stock-still. Within this room he could hear a babble of soft, whispering voices that seemed to exude from deep within the chasm. He shook his head in puzzlement. No, he wasn't sure that they were _really_ voices, but they sounded like flittering sounds against a soft wind, like butterflies' wings flapping. He trembled a little at the sensation.

Aerith pointed at the twelfth door.

"That's the exit to the temple." She moved her finger down to the sixth door. "And that's the shrine where the altar is."

Cloud shook himself out of the befuddled state the room had struck him in. He spoke, his voice echoing along he walls, contesting those insistent whisperings.

"Then let's go."

They stepped on to the waiting minute hand of the clock, and walked across on to the centre of the face. As they did so, the whispering voices seemed to grow louder and more painful to the ears.

"The sixth door." Aerith suddenly uttered, making Cloud and Cait Sith jump in surprise. "The sixth door."

Before Cloud could ask her what she was talking about, the hour hand of the clock began to shift placidly over to the sixth portal and stopped with a quiver and a click. Aerith turned round to them and gave them an expectant smile.

"Well...here goes."

Cloud nodded wordlessly. Taking the lead, he walked over the hour hand and on to the platform on which stood the sixth door. He strode over to it, and rested his hand gently on the doorknob. He stopped. The sounds were still going on in the room behind him, whistling on the air around his ears, as though they were trying to tell him something. The noise was maddening, he had a sort of urge to defy it. Pushing the whispered words firmly aside, he pressed down on the gilt handle. The door swung eagerly open.

And there he was.

At the bottom of the room stood Sephiroth, in front of the high golden altar. Cloud immediately felt it once again - the wave inexpressible and violent anger, crawling through his nerves into the very corners of his body. There were words in his brain, ordering him to fight the terrible hatred inside him. Trying to heed them, Cloud clenched his fists into two tight balls at his side and moved into the room. Sephiroth had seemed to sense his presence, for he turned round slowly to face the entrants, a mocking smile on his face.

"So, you've finally come Cloud," he spoke with a dangerous softness, "I have been waiting for you."

Cloud once again felt the familiar sense of revulsion within him, the hate with which he loathed Sephiroth. It was all he could do to take control of it as he answered.

"Why me? Why are you waiting for _me_?"

Sephiroth grinned and did not bother to reply to Cloud's question.

"You are still ignorant of my plans for the future of this Planet, I see." He played thoughtfully with the sheath of his sword, never taking his eyes off the three of them. "Let me enlighten you."

He began to pace the altar before them, his eyes still fixed on the three, almost as if he were assessing them.

"I am sure," he began, musingly, "that you know that it is my ultimate ambition to become god of this Planet. Indeed, that is my birthright. But it is not enough that I should simply dominate the world. No - domination is crude, simplistic. Unworthy of a creature such as me." He paused, frowned, continued: "No doubt you know that the purpose of the Cetra is to become _one_ with the Planet. This is my ultimate desire, and this I can achieve by finding the Promised Land." He stopped pacing and faced them, his bright eyes glinting gravely. "But even this is not enough. I must ensure that I become the most powerful being _through_ the Planet. Even though I will no longer be an entity with a bodily form, I must make my whole self encompass the very dreams of man since the beginning of time. I will _be _the Planet, not just one with it, but every part of it. The ocean, the earth, the mantle, the crust; its mind, its soul."

"How can you possibly do this?!" Cait Sith demanded, struck at Sephiroth's obsessive seriousness. Sephiroth gazed down on him in disdain.

"What would happen," he began, his voice silky, "if there was an injury that threatened the very life of the Planet?"

"It would be repaired." Cloud stated, confused as to how it mattered. "The Lifestream would gather together to heal the wound. The larger the wound, the more the Lifestream will gather to repair it."

Sephiroth smiled at him approvingly.

"I see you've been doing your homework, Cloud. And very well done, in fact. You are completely correct. And what is more, this very fact of nature will aid my plans."

Cloud stared up at him in sudden and fearful realisation. This man, he thought, he's a megalomaniac, what he is planning can't be possible, can _never_ be possible. Sephiroth nodded knowingly at him.

"Yes. I see you understand, Cloud. I shall create such a wound to the Planet, and I shall stand inside this wound and let the approaching Lifestream swallow me up. We shall mingle together, become one. I shall be the Lifestream, and the Lifestream shall be me. I will be the spirit energy that gives this Planet life. I shall be _all-powerful_."

"But," Cloud began, desperation winning through his initial sense of disbelief, "_how_ can you create such a wound? It's not possible."

"Ah, but it is," Sephiroth answered with calm certainty. "And with the Black Materia I shall achieve this."

Aerith spoke, and for the first time, there was real fury on her face.

"You won't do this. I won't let you!" Sephiroth raised an eyebrow in amusement as she spoke, but let her continue. "I will do everything in my power to stop you, Sephiroth. _Everything._ You're wrong. This is _not_ the purpose of the Cetra. You think you are strong, but you are weak. And I will stop you, no matter what!"

Sephiroth laughed derisively into the golden chamber and stepped down from the altar, walking to stand before Aerith. As the two stood facing each other, Cloud was struck at how similar and yet different they looked. She was the light, he the dark. They were worlds apart and yet so close it sent shivers crawling down his spine to see them stand together. Sephiroth was staring at her, caressing her with his eyes. He spoke to her, a soft yet harsh whisper.

"Poor, poor Aerith. You have deluded yourself. It is _you_ who is weak. You think you are the strong, virtuous heroine, because you relish in the pleasures the miserable human world has showered upon you." He was dangerously close to her, yet there was disgust on his face. "You do not realise that the very things that embrace you now will turn against you."

With a parting, silent glare into her eyes, he turned to Cloud.

"Do not pretend, Cloud," he said in a low soft voice. "You know what you are. That is why you understand my thoughts, my intentions. That is why you understand _me_."

He began to move back toward the door. Cloud started as if to stop him, but something gripped him before he could. His whole head was being filled with Sephiroth's voice, the last words he'd spoken to him whirling like a carousel through his mind. The sentences made no sense to him, yet somehow, he knew what they meant deep within him; he just didn't know where to find them. They were torturing him now, he could not think or see straight. He was falling to the floor, watching Sephiroth disappear through the door, beseeching him to remain, _begging_ him...

"Cloud, Cloud, don't listen!"

Another voice was calling him, a wonderfully gentle, comforting voice. He wakened from his state of turmoil, felt two familiar hands help him up.

"Don't listen to what he says," Aerith was pleading with him as if from far away. "Cloud, please don't listen."

Cloud forgot Sephiroth's words with an effort, pushed them out of his mind. He leant against Aerith and felt himself simmer at her touch. Slowly, slowly, he came back. When his vision had cleared, he looked about him. Sephiroth was gone. Cait Sith and Aerith were looking at him with sad and questioning eyes.

"Aerith," he opened his mouth and somehow his voice spoke, "how will his plan work? It can't Aerith, it can't."

She let go of him then and walked slowly to one of the murals on the wall with a purpose he'd hardly seen in her before.

"Look," she said, and they looked.

It was a picture of people, all kinds of people; males and females, children and adults, blacks and whites. The strange thing about these people was that they all had open mouths and eyes that were staring upwards, terrified expressions on their faces. Cloud moved his gaze to the place where the painted people were looking. Drawn above them was a round object with a tail, like... like a shooting star. Words that Sephiroth had spoken to Cloud previously suddenly came back to him: 'A calamity from the skies.'

"Is that...Jenova?" he asked Aerith uncertainly.

She shook her head, looking surprised at his words.

"No. This is Meteor."

"Meteor?" Cait Sith repeated carefully.

"Yes. There are things the Cetra have told me since I've been here." She halted and ran her fingers across the faded fresco. "The legends say that if the Black Materia falls into the wrong hands, a monster will appear from the skies and cause a massive wound to the Planet. This is Meteor. It can be summoned through the Black Materia if prayed for."

"But how do we get this Black Materia?" Cloud asked. "Tseng said it was on this altar."

Aerith looked toward the altar pensively.

"The Ancients say that this temple _is_ the Black Materia."

"What?" Cait Sith began. "How can this temple _be_ materia?"

"Well," Aerith began, "this temple will concentrate itself into the Black Materia if a sacrifice is made."

"Great. A sacrifice of what?" Cloud asked.

Aerith looked at them with a profound sadness in her eyes.

"A person has to sacrifice himor herself willingly at that altar," she finally answered. Cait Sith looked horrified.

"Sacrifice themselves?!"

They all looked at each other. There seemed to be no way out of the situation, but Cloud was positive that he should not let Sephiroth obtain the Black Materia. He frowned momentarily. It wasn't fair to have come this far and then suddenly give up. There must be some way out of the problem.

Cait Sith suddenly jumped up in abrupt enlightenment.

"I've got it!" he exclaimed loudly. Aerith looked up at him in surprise.

"What, what is it?"

Cait Sith grinned round at them.

"I'll be the one to get the Black Materia!" He ignored their doubtful looks and continued patiently. "Listen, I'm not a real living thing, am I. What I mean is, this isn't my real body, is it. My real body is back at Shinra Headquarters, right?"

Aerith smiled suddenly.

"So you can go and get the Black Materia without being killed!"

Cait Sith nodded vehemently.

"Right! All I'd be sacrificing would be this stuffed toy-body, wouldn't I!"

Cloud nodded.

"You're right." He turned and looked toward the altar thoughtfully. "Well, you'd better get to it, otherwise Sephiroth will think of a way to get it first. I wonder why he went in the first place..."

Aerith's face fell and she looked at Cait Sith with concern on her face.

"Cait Sith, are you sure you want to do this? We'll never see you again, will we."

Cait Sith shook his head and smiled at Aerith.

"If it's for you and the others, I'd gladly sacrifice anything I had to." He looked suddenly sheepish. "Besides, I never got to make up for that incident at the Gold Saucer." He looked meekly at Cloud. "I'm sorry about that, really. I guess I just blew it."

Aerith was touched.

"Cait Sith, you only did what you had to, and I can understand that. We didn't mind, really." She paused and looked thoughtful for a moment. "So you're really going to go forever?"

Cait Sith looked at her with an unexpected affection on his face. He smiled cheerfully at her.

"Hey, don't worry about it, I'll always be around in some way or another." He suddenly turned devilish. "I have a great idea! As a parting gift, why I don't I tell you your fortunes?!"

Aerith suddenly brightened, a sunny little smile playing across his lips.

"In that case, Cait Sith, I have a very special request to ask of you."

"What's that?" he asked curiously. Aerith coloured a little.

"Will you do a love match for me and Cloud?" she requested in a low voice. Cloud stared at her.

"Aerith..." he began, but didn't have the heart to stop her. Cait Sith seemed delighted by the suggestion.

"Wow. Never had a question like that before...Well, let me just see..."

He shut his eyes and began to sway back and forth in his usual comical manner as though in an ecstatic trance. Aerith gazed at him hopefully, waiting for him to finish. Finally, Cait Sith let out a deep breath, opened his eyes wide and returned to his normal state.

"Wow," he gasped incredulously. "Wow..."

Aerith clasped her hands together anxiously.

"Well? What did it say?"

Cait Sith was shaking his head back and forth humorously.

"This doesn't look good for Tifa."

"What? What do you mean?" Aerith was almost mad with suspense. Cait Sith looked up at her and grinned broadly.

"This is great! I've never had such a positive match before!"

"Positive match?!" Aerith cried.

"Yup. You and Cloud are made for each other. A perfect couple."

There were looks of surprise on both Aerith and Cloud's faces: Aerith's from pleasure, and Cloud's from embarrassment. He intervened quickly, not quite sure whether to believe the fortune, especially when told by Cait Sith.

"Cait Sith, are you sure...?"

Cait Sith cut in seriously before he could carry on.

"Sure I'm sure. You're both born to be together." He waved emphatically upward with his hand. "It's all written in the sky. Aerith's star and Cloud's star, crossing paths at night. You'll be together forever."

Cloud shifted uncomfortably; Aerith's smile, however, was in danger of being ingrained onto her face forever.

"Oh, I'm so happy. Cait Sith, thank you!" She gave him a little scratch behind the ear. "You're the best fortune-teller ever. I'm going to miss you so much."

Cait Sith passed a deep sigh and stared back at her dolefully.

"I'm going to miss you too Aerith. You've been so good to me." He turned round quickly. "Well...guess I've got to get this over and done with. Bye you guys. It's been great knowing you."

"You too, believe it or not," Cloud returned with sudden, genuine feeling, and Cait Sith passed him a fleeting, thankful smile.

"Thanks Cloud. I hope now, you can find it in you to trust me." He turned to the altar. "You had better get going now. I'll take it on from here."

Cloud nodded encouragingly at him.

"Yes - come on Aerith, let's go."

Aerith gave Cait Sith a last goodbye.

"Bye. Cait Sith, be strong."

They turned and walked out of the gold room, leaving Cait Sith behind. As Aerith led Cloud to the twelfth door of the clock room, the exit, she spoke quietly and sorrowfully.

"I hope he'll be all right."

"He'll be all right, as far as it goes," Cloud answered sombrely, then he thought of something else to ask as an afterthought. "Did you really believe all he said back there?"

She did not reply readily, but when she did answer it was with downcast eyes.

"I didn't want to hurt him, so I thought I'd play along with him a bit. You see everyone hates him, and it isn't fair. He was sent to us as a spy first and foremost - it wasn't his fault that he came to like us in the end. If he didn't, he would have turned us in ages ago." She looked up at him with clear eyes. "He's not even a fortune-teller anyway, Cloud, so you shouldn't worry about whether his fortunes hold any truth or not."

There was nothing he could find to say in reply to her words, so he shut his mouth quickly and said nothing.

As they reached the temple's exit, a resonant rumble sounding from beneath the floor filled the deep silence, the low vibrations rocking them both. Cloud looked back in alarm.

"We'd better get out of here! This place is going to be non-existent in a moment."

Aerith showed she understood with a nod of her head.

"Yes - let's hurry."

They began to walk at a fast pace toward the exit, but the corridor suddenly began to shake violently as though from a wound deep within the heart of the temple. They both stopped in petrified bewilderment.

"Cait Sith must have done it by now!" Aerith gasped, frightened. Cloud looked around him and his eyes sharply caught out the exit door. He turned Aerith.

"We've got to run, otherwise we'll never make it! The exit's over there!"

They both began to run toward the great door, stumbling over chunks of fallen rock and disoriented by the shock waves that had begun to consume the whole building. They finally found the doors and, miraculously, somehow managed to swing them open. The warm outside greeted them, the sudden brightness dazzled their eyes. Another tremor shook the temple, so much so that Aerith nearly fell to the ground. Helping her regain her balance, Cloud shouted out loud to get himself heard over the tremendous groans from the crumbling building.

"We'd better hurry or it'll blow!"

"But..."

Another loud crash silenced Aerith's sentence. Wordlessly, Cloud grasped her hand and began to run down the steps, out toward the forest. The whole area around was beginning to shudder now and the sound of rocks crumbling could be heard from behind them.

"Cloud," Aerith's voice was strained, breathless, "I can't run anymore..."

He didn't stop, didn't even think. They continued to run, the wind thrashing across their faces. An almighty crash deafened the sounds of the forest; and then a low rumble, as though of thunder, threw itself out into the atmosphere, rolling outward with a hellish clarity. Cloud shot a look back over his shoulder. He could sense that the temple was about to give in, about to explode and be razed to the ground. Setting his jaw, he looked ahead of him grimly. He moved in closer to Aerith, so that he was running alongside her.

"Aerith!" he yelled out. "Get down!"

Seeing her confusion, he clutched at her waist and pulled her down to the ground with him.

"Cloud...!"

A tremendous outburst filled the air, sending a blast of hot wind speeding around the area with the overwhelming power of its force. Cloud spread his weight over Aerith, shielding her from the heat and the flying rubble that was hurtling toward them from the dying temple. The explosion did not seem to die down: on and on it went, one blast after another, terrifyingly close. Cloud closed his eyes and waited for it to be over. His back was exposed to the painful heat and he could feel shards of stone piercing him. Aerith lay warm and soft beneath him. Instinctively, his fingers tightened around her waist. He was almost amazed by the suddenness of this action, especially in the terror of the moment.

And then it was over.

The atmosphere began to settle, and gradually the birdsong began to sound above them. The stillness in the air was unnatural and dark, almost evil. Aerith shifted beneath him uneasily. Cloud seemed to come awake to the situation, and slowly he sat up, holding her up with him. She seemed a little dizzy and clung onto his shirt, her hair loose.

"Is it over?" she asked, her voice weak.

Cloud looked around. The temple was not even a pile of rubble on the ground. It simply seemed to have disappeared from sight, except for a trail of smoke that was the only sign of anything extraordinary having happened. The sky seemed to have turned a shade darker; and there was a lingering quiet in the air about them; not even the wind was blowing anymore. He let out the breath that had been caught in his throat.

"Yes. It's over."

Aerith sighed in relief and rearranged her hair with one hand, the other still holding on to him. Cloud felt his heart beat out of step for a second. He realised somewhat self-consciously, that his arm was still around her slender, supple waist. Immediately, he dropped it and looked away. Aerith noticed the quickness of his action and, reluctantly, freed him from her grasp.

"Cait Sith..." she remarked sorrowfully.

Cloud stood up to face the scene of the disaster. It was strange, almost as though he could feel the power of the Black Materia emanating toward him from the ruin. He tried to shake the throbbing ache out of his head. It felt heavy and murky, and his back hurt from the explosion. Aerith picked herself up from the floor behind him. Cloud felt her put a hand to his back and he winced in pain.

"Cloud, you're not hurt, are you?" she inquired, concern filling her voice. He was moved by her touch, and somewhere in the back of his mind he acknowledged it. But there was some other irrepressible force that was moving him away from it, from her. Shaking his head, Cloud walked a few steps forward hesitantly.

"Aerith...the Black Materia is there...we have to get it."

"Let's go then," her voice replied shortly, and they began to make their way back toward the temple.

-oOo-

Where the beautiful sanctuary had once stood was now a gaping hole in the ground, perfect in its shape. It was as though something intelligent as well as all-powerful had simply removed the top building and its foundations leaving just this chasm. At the bottom shone the Black Materia, a faultless orb of ebony crystal. Aerith shuddered at the sight of it.

"It's there," she said in a low voice, looking over the edge of the crater. Cloud kicked a piece of loose stone over the brim and tested the firmness of the broken rock. It seemed quite stable under his feet.

"The rock surface shouldn't give way," he commented thoughtfully. "Come on, let's go down."

He began to climb down, jumping from one odd ledge to another, Aerith following in his footsteps. They soon got down to the bottom. Cloud helped Aerith down the last step and took in the scene cautiously. The Black Materia lay among the dirt and stone, dark and beautiful. And malevolent. Cloud could feel it, surrounding him, haunting him. He hung back, his heart beating fast. Aerith looked warily up at him, but said nothing.

Wrenching his courage into one heavy bulk, he walked up to the glowing jewel and bent over it. It stared right back up at him, calm and watchful, like an unblinking eye. Uncertainly, Cloud reached out for it. It touched his finger and it was cold. It took great strength of mind simply to close his fingers round it. Once he had picked it up, he stood and turned round triumphantly.

"Aerith, I have it!"

It was then that he felt it, the incredible impact of such energy that he could not move, powerful as an electric shock. Yet there was no pain in the force, just an incredible sense of loss in his body, the sense of him no longer having control of it.

Sweat broke on his forehead, his fingers began to shake. It was Sephiroth he could feel, Sephiroth who was all round him, pulling him in, drowning his mind. And now he could not only feel him, but see him as well. Cloud's whole body gave a convulsion of horror that didn't come out. He had no influence on how to move or motivate his body. It seemed to be totally divorced from his mind. And as he found himself staring into Sephiroth's eyes, he found that his mind too, was filled with hate and destruction and fear and anger, things that he had no reason to think or feel.

"Come Cloud," Sephiroth was beckoning him, ordering him, "the Black Materia." His hand was stretched out toward him, greedy and impatient. "After all, this is the reason why you've gone to all this trouble, isn't it. To give it to me."

Cloud put a step forward, his foot shaking. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, the voices, words, emotions and nerves were singing again, singing tremulously into a new and frightening crescendo. He would do it, and yet he knew somehow that he must not. There was reverberating pain...deep inside... and then that dreamy voice, except now it was condensed, wild, almost as painful as the pain.

_Cloud, stop!!_

He could not. There was just the knowledge that he must wake up, wake up immediately. He took another step, unable to stop himself.

"Cloud!" There was panic in Aerith's voice. "Cloud, don't listen to him!"

But Sephiroth didn't need to say any words. He had Cloud's mind, and that was all he could have needed anyway. Cloud was powerless to stop his legs moving in accord with Sephiroth's wishes. On he went, until he reached the tall, silver-haired man, and they stood, face to face. Sephiroth smiled.

"Give it to me."

At the back of his mind, Cloud heard the alarm bells ringing. He gripped tightly onto the Black Materia, tried to will himself to move away.

"_No_!" he screamed.

His hand moved forward, dropped the dark materia in Sephiroth's waiting palm. The pain suddenly descended on to Cloud, he could feel it mounting, filling up to the very tips of his fingers. He stood shaking in agony.

"Good boy," Sephiroth smiled. "Good boy, Cloud."

Cloud suddenly felt a release from the loss of control, from the pain. But Sephiroth was gone; and so was the Black Materia. No - the pain was still in his head, but it was a different pain. It was an overwhelming hate, a poison that was cursing him. Sephiroth was still there, still in him. Cloud clenched his fists in fury.

"I did it!" he yelled into the stagnant air. "I did it! Why?! _Why?!_"

He screamed out for the sake of it, because it made him hate more. And Aerith was behind him, her hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay, Cloud," he could hear her saying. "It wasn't your fault. It wasn't your fault."

He hated her, he hated the way she was good and beautiful, and the way she repeated that damned sentence over and over. He turned on her, the thoughts whirling round in his head like a tornado.

"Shut up!" he yelled. "Shut up!!"

He hit her, once, twice, thrice, he hit her until it was an inexhaustible, infinite rhythm and he could not stop it. All he could feel was the loathing in his heart, and it was almost as powerful an emotion as that which he felt for her. Maybe it was what he felt for her, he thought somewhere in the middle of his violent wrath, and he fought urgently against her futile struggling, forgetting even the reasons why he was doing so. They were on the ground now, and his arms were flailing out incessantly, sometimes hitting, sometimes missing. Aerith suddenly went limp, exhausted in the face of his brutal frenzy. A wave of fear suddenly rushed into Cloud's mind. He knew that somehow he must stop this madness. He wanted her to fight back, to stop him, to kill him if she had to. Surely even death must be better than this evil insanity.

"Stop me!" he was screaming at her, tears burning his eyes, spilling forth. "Stop me, Aerith!"

"_Cloud_!!"

Cloud heard the voice, but could not stop. Sephiroth's power was still inside him, and until it was gone, he'd never stop. I want to die, he thought suddenly. Please, someone kill me!

Just as the wish had passed through his mind, something crashed into him from behind, heavy as a boulder. Exhausted and in agony, Cloud fell forward, and let the blessed blackness consume him.

-oOo-

* * *

_Next: The search for Sephiroth continues, and how will everyone take Cloud's betrayal?_


End file.
